Titan Legends Volume Five: Child of Conflict
by Link the Teen Titan
Summary: The Titans meet a new girl, Scarlette, while she tries to steal from a grocery store. After catching her though they find out she's not all that bad and decide to let her stay, much to Robin's disapproval. Her power to create any weapon from nothing may prove useful, especially since Majora has recently struck a deal with a very powerful villain. LinkxStarfire, RobinxScarlette
1. Chapter 1: Scarlette

**Time for Volume Five! I'm still not entirely certain how this part of the story is going to play out, so I'll just try coming up with stuff as I go. But I ****_am_**** sure that this Volume only introduces a new character, but she'll be narrating this volume too! This character is an original character that I originally made in Soul Calibur V's creation mode. I liked her design so much, I decided to incorporate her into my fanfic. Her name is Scarlette: a 15-year old girl who can create weapons... oh, and she can turn invisible. She also ends up having a****_ thing _****for Robin (which will be a bit awkward for me to write. But hey, it just goes to show, I don't hate the guy ****_that_**** much!), but she also picks on him a lot and drives him crazy. This volume also features the appearance of another DC comic villain, who you'll see at the end of this chapter. So let's get started; with a little introduction first.**

* * *

Introduction:

Link: Hello everyone. It's me, Link. The next part of my story with the Titans is about our chance encounter with a new friend, and this time _she_ will be narrating the story.

Scarlette: Wait. What?! Nobody told me that!

Link: Actually Scarlette, I did.

Scarlette: Oh… right. My bad.

Link: As I was saying, our new friend will be narrating this part of the story, since it is mainly centered around her. Her name is Scarlette. Well, we think so anyway. She has amnesia so we don't know for sure.

Scarlette: Shouldn't _I_ be telling them that?

Link: Yeah. But I was just letting the readers know what will be going on this time.

Scarlette: Okay. That's cool.

Link: Anyway, let's get this started. Scarlette?

Scarlette: Uhh… right! Okay. Hmm… where do I begin…?

* * *

Chapter One: Scarlette

(Scarlette's narration)

It was a cold night on the day that I arrived in Jump City. Who exactly decided to call a city 'Jump' is beyond me, but whatever. I was on top of the roof of a building, having just finished off a sandwich and a bottle of soda that I… umm… _stole_. As was said in the introduction earlier, my name is Scarlette. Or at least that's the name I was given by the leader of the gang I was in, emphasis on _was_. Once I found out what was really going on within the gang, I wasn't about to stick around. The gang leader gave me the name Scarlette cause that's what I was wearing at the time; a red bandana and a red tank top. In fact, I'm still wearing them to this day. The other reason for the name Scarlette, as hinted by the 'lette' part, was because I'm a girl. I was only ten years old when the gang leader found me wandering the streets of Bludhaven, and he took me in and gave me a home. At first I thought he was the nicest guy in the world, but I later found out that he was only interested in what I could do: I had the power to create weapons out of nothing. Well, sort of… they're actually more like constructs of energy that take the form and functions of weapons. I don't know how I got this power, I've had it since as long as I can remember, which isn't very much.

I forgot to mention; I have amnesia. I have no memory of the first ten years of my life. The only things I remember these days are waking up in a destroyed house, being found by the gang leader, and more recently, abandoning the gang and traveling on my own. I have traveled for nearly two years, and I was now fifteen years old. I kept myself alive by stealing food and anything else that I needed to survive from wherever I could. I wasn't proud of it, but what else could I do? I knew no one in society would accept me without either being afraid of my powers, or wanting to use me for them. I would soon find out that I was wrong about that, and that I would soon meet six people who I would forever call my friends. But for now, I laid down among some old newspapers I had gathered, placed my head upon an old pillow I found in a dumpster, and slowly fell asleep. Yeah, I know… my life sucked.

* * *

On the night of the next day, I had snuck into a grocery store after it had closed. I carefully made sure to avoid any cameras and any other possible security measures. My goal was to swipe something to eat, preferably some kind of meat; I was craving it for some reason. It was dark in the store, but I managed to make it to the meat section. I grabbed a big hunk of meat, without checking for what kind, and made my way back to the entrance. This had been too easy! Or at least that is what I thought, for when I approached the entrance I was confronted by six oddly dressed people. Most of them looked my age, but I'm sure their intentions weren't the same. There was a blonde boy with a sword in a green dress-like outfit; a red-haired orange girl with green eyes, wearing a purple tank-top and skirt; a dark-skinned man who looked like much of his body was made of metal; a weird-looking green-skinned boy; a girl in a black leotard and hooded blue robe, who looked like she didn't go out in the sun all too often; and in the front, the one that stood out the most in my opinion, a spiky-haired boy wearing a mask over his eyes, a cape and red and green outfit with a big yellow 'R' on the left side of his chest. It was almost like I was in front of a living traffic light and it was telling me to stop. It was going to take more than that to intimidate me though.

"Put down the ham. Unless you wanna be ham-boned!" The spiky-haired boy said while clenching his fists.

"_Okay_… what are you all supposed to be? And how did'ya all know I was here?" I questioned.

The guy with the sword pointed to the front door of the store and told me that I had left the door wide open. I slapped my forehead, feeling kinda stupid; I _knew_ I had forgotten _something!_ Still, I wasn't going to let them catch me that easily. As quickly as I could, I leapt onto the top of the shelf nearest to me and made a break for one of the windows. The red-haired girl and the robed girl chased after me, being able to fly apparently, and each fired attacks at me. The red-haired girl fired green energy bolts at me, but I was able to evade each one. The robed girl used some strange kind of power to manipulate objects and began to topple the shelves in an attempt to stop me, but I was fast enough that I was able to stay on course. When I was about ten feet from the window, a jolt of freezing energy in the shape of an arrow shot past me, spreading ice on the wall right next to the window. The guy with the sword had fired it from a high-tech looking bow. While I was distracted, the green-skinned guy, to my surprise, transformed into a hawk and flew towards me! That was my cue to get the heck out of there! I got to the window just in time and busted through into an alleyway. I scurried up a nearby building, ran across the top, and dropped down on the other side. I huddled against the wall in an attempt to hide, just barely being able to see most of those odd people zip past trying to find me. I sighed in relief, and now that I was out of danger I unwrapped the meat I had stolen, which happened to be turkey.

"_Turkey?! _Aww, I wanted roast beef!" I complained to myself.

I was a little upset, but beggars can't be choosers. I was about to take a bite, but I was interrupted by the spiky-haired boy from before.

"You're gonna have to try a _lot_ harder to lose _me_." He said somewhat smugly.

My mouth was still prepared to bite into the turkey I stole when he had caught me. All of that running had made me really hungry; my stomach almost felt like it was going to eat itself. I honestly wished that I could just warp away from here and eat in peace, but I knew very well that we can't always have what we want. I was willing to give it a shot though.

"Uhh… can't this wait?" I asked him.

I didn't even have to think twice about that. I could see in the look on his face that he was going to deal with me _now_. So I put my turkey down and prepped myself. It had been awhile since I had fought anyone, and to be honest, I actually liked to fight; I would always get a rush from a tough fight, which always made me feel stronger for some reason. The spiky-haired boy raised up his hand and gestured for me to come at him, but I wasn't gonna fall for it.

"Oh, no. _You_ make the first move." I told him.

"What?" He asked me looking slightly confused.

"I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to get me to charge towards you and attack, so you can evade my attack, and counterattack, which will put you at an advantage. Sorry Spikey, but I'm not falling for it!" I informed him.

"Who are you calling _Spikey?!_" He shouted at me.

I guess that made him mad. Well, it was true; his hair was almost spiky enough that it defied gravity. Anyway, it got him angry enough that he charged at me ready to throw a punch. I anticipated such a move though, and quickly leaned to the side to dodge it. He tried a few more punches and then a kick. I dodged the punches, and when he threw out the kick, I sidestepped, grabbed his leg, and tossed him at least ten feet behind me. He immediately got back up though. Good; Even though I was hungry, I didn't want this to be _too_ easy. He charged at me again, but this time instead of attacking, he feinted and managed to score a few hits on me. He had hit my face and my stomach (which hurt a bit more than usual on the account that I was starving) so I decided to return the favor. He blocked most of my hits, but I managed to land several punches in his face and one hard kick to his gut. Both of us reeled back from the rush of the fight. I wasn't really worried though; the more intense the fight, the more energetic I become!

"You know, you fight pretty well… for a thief." He told me while still trying to catch his breath.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself." I responded. "Your hair's still silly-looking though."

He didn't respond to that comment; the compliment or the insult. It looked as if he was focused solely on the fight. Whoever this guy was, he had focus. I liked that, but it also seemed like he seriously needed to take a chill pill. Just then, he pulled something out of one of the pouches on his yellow belt.

"It doesn't change the fact that you're a thief, and you're not going to get away!" He warned me.

What he had pulled out was a collapsable bo staff. He whirled it around in his hands for a moment before he held it braced in his hands, ready to fight with it. He was going to use a bo staff again an unarmed opponent?! Did this guy have any honor at all?!

"Hey! That's not fair! I don't have any weapons!" I shouted at him.

Well, actually… I did. I just hadn't 'brought them out' yet. I had forgotten about my power to create weapons. The truth is, I forget things sometimes; rather often actually. Usually not anything important, and it doesn't really take me that long for it to come to me, but it still bugged me a lot.

"Oh… wait. Duh! Yeah I do!" I said while I hit my head in embarrassment. "One second…"

I held both of my arms up in front of me and concentrated. A strange energy flowed out from somewhere within me and into my arms, causing glowing red markings to appear. The energy flow coalesced into my hands, and formed into a pair of kunai; which are daggers used by ninjas for those who don't know. I had never gone up against someone with a bo staff before, and I wasn't sure which kind of weapon would be effective against it, so I just went with something simple. With my weapons now in hand, I braced myself in the same manner as my opponent.

"Okay, I'm ready! Bring it on, Spikey!" I said.

The spiky-haired guy now looked kinda dumbfounded. What? Had he never seen a pair of kunai before?

"What the-! Where did you get those?!" He questioned as he pointed to my hands.

"What? The gloves?" I answered. "I really don't remember. They're pretty cool though, right?"

Once again, my ignorance had struck. I should've known that he wasn't talking my fingerless gloves, but about my kunai that had suddenly appeared from nowhere. I guess the combination of my forgetfulness and the fact that I was having fun made me overlook the fact.

"Not your gloves, you airhead! I meant your weapons!" He shouted at me, a bit rudely I might add.

"Sheesh! Chill out, grouchy! I have the ability to make weapons out of nothing… or something like that." I told him.

I didn't really see the harm in telling him about that. The fact that he already seemed to have a belt filled with various tools and weapons didn't really make me think he'd be all that interested in my powers. No, what he seemed more interested in right now was getting this fight going again. Since he seemed to be so impatient, I decided that we should get this over with; and once this fight was done, I could get out of here and eat my food in peace.

Once again, he made the first move. He tried to whack me with his bo staff, but I managed to block each attempt by using both of my kunai as a shield. I attempted to counterattack by slashing at his staff. The idea was that if I could knock that staff out of his hands, then maybe I could knock him out with a kick or something and then escape. I most certainly did not want to slash him in any vital areas; I may be a thief, but I'm not a killer. That fact made me wonder if I should've used something less sharp to fight this guy. I was right to worry, for one of my attacks slashed him straight across the chest! He stumbled backwards in pain, and I could see that I ripped the front part of his shirt.

"Oh no! I didn't mean to…!" I began to say.

I immediately disposed of my kunai, which simply dissolved into nothing, and turned around to think of what I should do. Should I try to help? But what if I just made things worse? Should I just run away? But what if no one else would find him and help him in time? Besides, that would leave me with a guilty conscience. What was I going to do?! I didn't have to worry for too long though, for while I was distracted by my thoughts, the spiky-haired boy had snuck up behind me and grasped in a body-lock.

"Got'cha! Rule number one during a fight: never let your guard down!" He scolded. "Now that this is over, it'd be best if you'd just come quietly."

He had caught me?! Wow. After being on the lamb for two years, someone had finally caught me. Or had they? I didn't have a whole lot of options in this position, so I decided to try something and see if he'd fall for it.

"You've _got _me, huh? You sure about that?" I asked him smugly.

After I said that, much to the boy's surprise, I disappeared! He had no idea what was going on, and let go of me in a hasty attempt to find where I went. While he was looking all around, wondering where I had gone, I giggled softly as I climbed up a nearby fire escape. I guess I forget to mention that I also have the ability to turn invisible. I don't know if it is linked to my weapon creating powers, but it was useful nonetheless. Once up on the fire escape, I turned visible again and got his attention.

"Ha! I can't believe you fell for that!" I taunted. "I wasn't intangible, just invisible! You let go too soon!"

Even though I was now about thirty feet away from him, I could tell that he was pissed off. It was kinda embarrassing if you think about it; I was still caught in his arms when I went invisible, and you'd think that he'd still be able to feel me there. I guess he was just so surprised by it that he wasn't thinking too much. Heh, I know what that's like. Anyway, I told him that this had been fun, but that I had to get going now and eat my dinner.

"Better luck next time, Spikey!" I gloated.

I turned around to dart off into the city, but I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention, and slammed my head straight into the side of a ladder! The collision caused me to go all dizzy, and I blurted out things that didn't really make sense (something involving the turkey I had stolen, I think). I went unconscious and fell down onto the floor of the fire escape. In my last few seconds of consciousness, I was worried about what was going to happen to me, but I would soon find out that I had nothing to worry about. Well… sort of.

* * *

When I woke up, I was still a little dizzy. I tried to prop myself up with my hands, but I quickly found out that I couldn't move them! Someone had put me in a straight-jacket! I was in a small room with only a single chair that I was sitting on. In front of me was a window, and on the other side of the window were the six people that I had encountered earlier. The idea of me in a straight-jacket made me nervous, and I started to panic.

"Where am I?! Where am I?!" I asked in panic. "Oh no! I'm not in the big house am I! I'm too young to go to jail!"

The same spiky-haired guy that I was fighting before stepped closer to the window and told me to calm down. It wasn't exactly easy for me to calm down right now. After all, I was being held captive, bound by a straight-jacket, and worst of all… I was still hungry! But after a moment, I settled back down in the chair, though I was still breathing pretty heavily.

"Relax. You're not in jail. At least not yet." The spiky-haired guy informed me. "You're in Titans Tower. We brought you here after you, umm… knocked yourself out."

Titans Tower? It didn't take me that long to figure out that he was talking about that giant 'T' that I had seen in the distance before. So that thing was a tower! Before I had thought that it was some kind of construction project that would spell out something, but apparently it belonged to these guys, who called themselves the Teen Titans (ok…weird). I asked him what he meant when he said that I 'knocked myself out'. When he told me that I had hit my head on a metal latter while trying to escape, my face turned red in embarrassment. To think, I had been kicking this guy's butt before, and what ultimately ends up defeating me is a metal pole?! Man, sometimes I can be such an idiot!

"What we want to know is what you were doing before when you stole from that grocery store. What were you planning?" He asked me.

"Uhh… I was planning on eating something. Duh." I answered.

Spikey looked pissed off at the way I had answered him. I admit, sometimes I can be a little rude, but c'mon; I had been living as a thief on my own for two years! Cut me some slack! The big mechanical guy in the back mentioned that none of them had ever seen me in this city before today, which wasn't surprising for me, as I had only arrived here yesterday.

"I believe that we should do the 'hearing out' of her story." The red-haired girl said. "She may not be all that she seems to our eyes."

The blonde guy with the sword agreed with her, with the others nodding in agreement shortly after, with Spikey agreeing last. With the proposal settled, the blonde guy asked me what my name was.

"Uhh… my name is Scarlette." I told them.

Some of them had confused looks when I said that.

"Scarlet? What kind of name is that?" The green-skinned guy asked me.

"_Scarlette_, not Scarlet. It has an l-e-t-t-e instead of an l-e-t. And _I_ didn't come up with the name, the leader of the street gang I was in did." I explained.

"You're in a street gang?!" Spikey asked.

"_WAS! Was_, okay! I quit the gang two years ago, and have been living on my own ever since." I replied.

"Living as a thief, right?" Spikey asked.

I was a little reluctant to answer right away, but after a moment I admitted that I was a thief. But I had only ever stolen things that I needed to survive; in other words, food.

"Why must you steal for a living? Why can you not just attempt the finding of employment?" The red-haired girl asked me.

"I… I've tried, but people get freaked out by… what I can do." I told them.

The others didn't know what I was talking about, but Spikey remembered from before; that I could create weapons out of nothing. The green-skinned guy complimented that that sounded cool, and the mechanical guy wondered why anyone wouldn't find that useful. I replied by telling them that the weapons I create can only be used by me; they disappear if I'm not using them. Also, on rare occasions, I end up making weapons randomly, and often they are something that does not suit the current situation and often just makes things worse. Still, people have tried to use me for my powers, including the gang leader.

"People have wanted to use you as a weapon?! That's terrible!" The blonde guy exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's messed up! And I should know; half of me practically _is_ a weapon!" The mechanical guy said.

"What of your parents? Surely they would not have allowed this." The red-haired girl asked me.

Upon hearing that, I looked down in depression. The people who were questioning me about all of this were confused at first, but they quickly figured it out… sort of. The robed girl implied that my parents might be dead. I informed them that I really didn't know if they were dead or not, or who they were, as I had no memory of the first ten years of my life.

"You lost your memory?" The blonde guy asked me.

I nodded. Afterwards, they huddled together to discuss something. My stomach was still growling, and while in this straight-jacket I couldn't even grasp it from hunger pain! Their discussion went on for about five minutes, with my stomach growling the entire time.

"Hey guys? I'm cool with this interrogation thing, but could I have something to eat first? I'm starving! I'll even eat leftovers if I have to!" I pleaded.

A moment after I said that, they all turned around to face me again. They all looked at me with slightly distrustful looks, Spikey most of all. Then afterwards, they asked me just a few more questions.

"So… you've never stolen anything other than food?" Spikey asked me.

"Nope." I answered.

"And you have amnesia?" He asked me.

"Yep." I answered.

"And you aren't a part of a street gang anymore?" He asked me.

"Heck no!" I answered.

Spikey then walked over to the door separating me from them and opened it. He stepped up to me and released me from the straight-jacket. I got up and stretched my arms, which caused Spikey to jump back cautiously.

"What? Oh, c'mon, you really thought I'd jump you the moment you let me go?" I asked him.

He still had a cautious look on his face, but regardless, he gave me permission to exit the room; like I needed it. Once I was in the same room as the other guys, they introduced themselves one after the other. The blonde guy's name was Link (…weird); the red-haired girl was called Starfire (… also weird); the mechanical guy was called Cyborg (… _weird_); the green-skinned guy was named Beast Boy (… _seriously?_); the robed girl was named Raven (okay, that one's less weird); and the spiky-haired guy, who didn't introduce himself to me directly but rather one of his friends did, was called Robin (Really?! _Really?! _That sounded like a girl's name! That was hilarious!).

"Well… it was nice meeting all of you…. well, _most _of you." I said while looking towards Robin in particular. "I guess I'll be off then."

Before I could exit the room though, Robin grabbed me by the arm and stopped me.

"Hold on. You really think we're just going to let you go? Just so you can continue stealing stuff? Yeah, that's not happening." He told me. "We're not going to send you to jail. But until we find out if your 'story' checks out, you'll be staying here."

So, I was being forced to stay here? In this tower? With a team of superheroes? That seemed like a drag at first, but then I realized: this could be my chance to redeem myself! If I could prove to them that I could do good things, then maybe I wouldn't have to go back to being a thief! Maybe I could actually become a hero, and prove to all of my former gang 'pals' that I _could_ be something other than a delinquent! Everyone was able to see my smile as I was thinking this, though Robin probably thought that I was thinking something devious. The others however, particularly Link and Starfire, proposed that I should be given a chance to redeem myself; exactly what I had been thinking.

"I think we should let her stay here. You know, give her another chance. After all, she didn't really hurt anyone when she broke into that grocery store." Link suggested.

"Agreed. From what we have heard, it does not seem like she is a villain, but has merely been caught up in villainous activity. I think we should give her the 'second chance'" Starfire claimed.

Robin didn't seem into the idea at first, but after a moment of thinking, he reluctantly accepted their suggestion.

"Oh, alright." He groaned.

He turned to face me, still with a way-too-serious look on his face. It was actually kind of funny; most of these guys were actually taller than him and he was acting like he was…hmm, I don't know… Batman or something (I had amnesia! I didn't know about his past back then, okay!).

"_Scarlette_, was it? I guess we can let you stay here for a little while." He told me. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you."

"Oooh! I'm sooo scared! I'm gonna be monitored by a walking traffic light!" I responded jokingly.

He looked pretty steamed as he heard me say that.

"Oh! Lighten up, Spikey! I'm just fooling around." I said.

"You just watch your step! Got it?!" He ordered me. "And _don't_ call me Spikey."

"Whatever… _Spike_y" I replied, giggling softly afterwards.

He still looked ticked, but the others interrupted by mentioning that I still hadn't had anything to eat. Finally! After all of this I couldn't wait to chow down on whatever this place had to offer. As we headed to the Tower's kitchen in their ops room (which looked _awesome_, by the way), I took a slight glance towards Robin, still with the serious look on his face. He seemed like a grouch, but I still appreciated the fact that he was giving me a second chance. I didn't say it to his face, but what I was thinking was… Thank you.

* * *

Elsewhere, in an encounter that none of us were there to see, a guy in a black outfit ducked into an alleyway, apparently there to meet someone. From out of the shadows, two figures appeared. One was a pale man in a red cape who was dressed rather flamboyantly. But the other was clearly not human; it was a large heart-shaped mask with spikes on it's sides, top, and bottom, making it look like it had a mouth, and eight red tentacles coming out of it's back. The guy in the black outfit was wearing a white mask with a red X across it, and handed something over to the pale man, an object that looked like an hourglass. The man observed it for a moment, and then showed it to the mask monster.

"What do you say? Is it the real thing?" He asked it.

_"Yes. This is indeed the vessel that we need."_ The monster replied.

"So I got you what you wanted. Now hand over my reward." The Red X guy demanded.

Both the pale man and the mask monster began to laugh maniacally, and after a second or two a third evil laugh joined in. A man in pitch black armor and a cape stepped out from the shadows. He was wearing a black greek-style helmet on his head, which was dark enough that it obscured his face, save for two glowing red eyes.

"Your reward is that we let you live. I suggest you take it, before I change my mind." The man told Red X.

Red X didn't seem to like that reward, as he tossed several sharp X-shaped projectiles at the man. Right when they would've hit him though, they stopped in midair just a few inches from his chest. Then each projectile was fired back the way they came and exploded, which almost hit Red X. He was able to dodge them, although the explosion had damaged him enough that he was knocked to the ground.

"You dare to attack me?! I am a god, you mortal scum!" The man shouted.

As fast as he could, Red X got up and disappeared. The mask monster snickered at the sight of him fleeing.

_"Impressive, Ares. Perhaps you _**_do_**_ live up to the legends spoken of you."_ The monster told him.

"I could care less for your opinion, demon. I strike fear into the hearts of _all_ men." Ares responded.

"If we are done with the monologuing, let us get back to business." The pale man interrupted.

He held up the object that Red X had given to them, which was indeed an hourglass; a dark blue hourglass with what looked like black sand within it. The mask monster looked at it closer, and some kind of dark aura began to exude from the sand.

"So the Phantom God is imprisoned within that tiny object?" Ares asked the monster.

_"Yes. And to break the seal, the life force of many strong souls must be offered. I believe that the warriors of Themyscira will provide exactly that."_ The monster informed. _"All we need now is for your daughter to do _**_her_**_ part." _

Neither I nor any of my new friends had any idea what these three guys were planning, but whatever it was, we were going to put a stop to it and kick their butts! Well, that is… if I can manage to earn their trust.


	2. Chapter 2: Freaked Out

Chapter Two: Freaked Out

I woke up on the couch the next day, having spent my first night in Titans Tower. It wasn't the comfiest place to sleep, but it was certainly better than sleeping on the rooftops. I stretched my arms and legs out and got up. I got all of the kinks out of my neck and then made my way to the kitchen. I saw that Starfire was already there, preparing some kind of food, though it wasn't like any food I had ever seen. When she saw me she bid me good morning, which was something that I did not hear very often.

"Yeah. Morning… uhh… what was it again? Fire Star?" I questioned.

"_Starfire_." She corrected me. "How did you sleep?"

"Well, to be honest, your couch is a little lumpy." I told her.

I took another look at what she was making. It looked like some kind of purple globules, and it appeared that they were alive. I asked her what it was that she was making, and her response was, well… it was some kind of food with a name that I couldn't understand.

"Uhh… okay." I said.

I would later find out that she was actually an alien from a distant world called Tamaran. Other than her weird green on green eyes, and eyebrow shape and orange skin, she didn't really look like an alien. But I guess looks can be deceiving. The sight of her weird jiggling food made me lose my appetite for now, and instead asked her if I could use their shower. She did not see a problem with this, so she pointed me in the direction of their bathroom. I thanked her and headed off in that direction.

On the way there, I just so happened to bump into Robin. He was heading for the tower's training room to train for the next time there was an emergency. He asked me what I was doing in the hallway.

"If you must know, I'm headed for the shower. Starfire said I could use it, and it just so happens that I haven't showered in… well… I forget how long it's been. So in other words, I stink and I need a shower!" I told him.

"Yeah. You do stink. In more ways than one." He said mockingly.

"Oh, give it a rest!" I told him.

I walked past him and continued on towards the bathroom. As I was leaving, Robin told me to meet him in the training room with the others when I was done. I waved my hand in response and told him I'd be there. He was still looking at me with that serious look on his face.

"Remember: I'm keeping my eye on you." He warned me.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Just not while I'm in the shower, okay?" I told him.

I didn't really think that he'd do that. He didn't seem like a perv, just a jerk. Once I reached the bathroom, I made sure the door was shut tightly behind me, just in case. I hadn't showered in who knows how long, and I was beginning to smell kinda like a dumpster full of sweaty socks or something. I obviously smelled this bad the other day too, they just didn't want to say anything. I'm pretty sure that the others wouldn't appreciate me smelling bad during training, so I got myself ready and hopped in the shower, taking one last check to make sure no one was peeking.

* * *

After my shower, I headed over to the tower's training room. Everyone else was there training in their own various ways, some of which I found kinda bizarre. But hey, I create weapons out of nothing, so I'm one to talk. After observing for a while, Robin noticed I had arrived and stopped his training to inform the others. They all stopped what they were doing and gathered in front of me.

"Scarlet! Glad you could join us!" Starfire said.

"It's Scar_lette. _But whatever." I replied. "So what do you guys want me to do."

Robin informed me that he and the others wanted to see what I could do. I reminded Robin that he already knew what I could do, from when I kicked his butt the other day. He growled at the fact and claimed that I did not 'kick his butt' but rather that he hadn't been the one to bring me down, reminding me of how I clonked my head on a ladder. I decided to drop the subject before it got any more embarrassing for me and asked what he wanted me to do. Robin pointed over to a series of human-shaped targets that appeared to be made of wood or something on one side of the room.

"Use those to show us what you can do. Try to knock all of them out as fast as you can using whatever methods you have." He told me.

"This is gonna be cool!" Beast Boy remarked.

"Indeed! After hearing of your weapon-shaping abilities, we are most eager to see them for ourselves!" Starfire mentioned.

"Just get in there and do your best." Link told me. "That's all anyone's asking."

"Just try not to make too much of a mess." Raven said.

I wasn't sure if that last one was sarcasm or not, but whatever. I made my way over to the targets and prepped myself.

"Just remember: I'm…" Robin began to say.

"I know, I know! You're keeping your eye on me! I get it!" I said before he could finish.

Once again he looked pissed off. I don't know why, but I seemed to love making that guy ticked. It was just fun for me! Anyway, I waited for a signal for me to start. Cyborg pulled up a timer from his right arm, and counted down. When he said 'go', I leapt into action. Since these were just practice dummies, I decided that my first choice of weapon would be a sword; so I concentrated and formed a long, glowing red sword in my hand, which I grasped and went into action. In only a few seconds, I had already hacked apart at least ten targets. I was able to hear the others awe from the sight of my attacks. I was pretty awesome, but Robin didn't look impressed. So I ditched the sword and formed a pair of nun-chucks to smack around a few targets. Everyone was impressed with how fast I could form different weapons, but Spikey still didn't look impressed. Why did I care so much about impressing him? Who cares what he thinks? But anyway, there were only about fifteen targets left, and for my last move I decided I would try something new. So I ditched the nun-chucks and formed a glowing red bo staff in my hands, obviously inspired by my fight with Spikey the other night. Now this time I definitely saw a change in his expression, even though he was just raising an eyebrow under his mask. I had never used a bo staff before, but even so, I whirled it around in my hands like it was nothing and began smacking around the last fifteen targets with it. When I broke the last target, I twirled around the staff again, propped it up upon the ground, and leaned on it looking all 'cool-like'.

"Woah! Dude! Uhh… I mean, dude-ette. That was awesome!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

I heard Starfire remark that it was 'glorious'. That wasn't something I heard a lot, most of the time people would just scream at the sight of my glowing weapons. But it was nice to see people that thought my powers were cool.

"You know, that was the first time I had ever tried using a bo staff." I told them.

"Really? But the way you used it, it looked like you were a pro." Link remarked.

"Well… maybe I'm just a natural." I replied, looking towards Robin a little afterwards.

He turned his head away slightly and crossed his arms. Heh. I guess I ticked him off again. Oh well. Cyborg walked over and checked his timer, mentioning that I had cleared all of the targets in only two minutes and thirty-five seconds.

"If I'm not mistaken, that's a new record!" Cyborg told me.

"Really?! Cool! What was the previous record?" I asked him.

"Two minutes and thirty-seven seconds. By Robin." He answered.

I looked towards Robin with a smug look on my face. The fact that I had beaten his record was probably making him feel really embarrassed right now. Robin claimed that it hardly mattered; that it was only by two seconds that I had beaten him.

"Just admit it, Spikey. I did something better than you. Maybe I'm not a waste of space after all." I told him.

"Just cause you beat my record doesn't mean you have a place on this team. After all, we still hardly know anything about you, so I'd watch it if I were you." He responded. "And _don't_ call me Spikey!"

Despite what he just said I still had a smug look plastered on my face, and the sight of it no doubt boiled him up inside. I really seemed to get a kick out of lighting this guy's fuse! Before anything else though, an alarm sounded throughout the tower and a red light began flashing. I asked everyone what was going on, and they all told me the same thing: There was an emergency in the city, and the Titans were being called into action! By emergency, I knew they meant that a crime was in progress. Yes! This was my chance!

"Titan's, go!" Robin declared.

That was the signal to get into action. But while the others were exiting the tower, Robin stopped me and told me to stay here.

"What?! There's no way I'm staying put! After all that training, I'm eager for some real action!" I claimed.

"No. Stay here. You'll only slow us down or cause us trouble." He told me.

"No I won't! I'm a good fighter! Let me help!" I responded. "Besides, I thought you were 'keeping an eye on me.'"

Ha! I got him there! I contradicted his own claim! Looks like he didn't have a choice right now, so he said I could come along, but only if I did what he said. Whatever. In all honesty, I was going to come along whether he wanted me to or not, so I just nodded and ran out the door.

* * *

The emergency in question was happening at a local video game store. The place was open, but all of the customers had fled. The only person inside was the cashier, and this short, orange-haired

guy in a brown overcoat who clearly looked like he needed to lay off the cheese puffs or something; in other words, he was fat. He was also holding this weird-looking remote that had a monster-head shaped tip. He pointed it to one of the nearby TV monitors and clicked a button. To my surprise, the monitor came to life! This wasn't anything new to the others though, as they've encountered this guy before. He called himself Control Freak, a geek with a remote that could defy the laws of physics. Even so, Beast Boy informed me that he wasn't even on their 'list of notorious villains'. Umm… _okay_.

Before the TV monitor monster could attack the cashier, Control Freak clicked his remote again and the monster, umm… _paused_, I guess.

"Okay… Either you admit that Deity of Conflict III, which re-invented the entire series as a whole, deserves to be on your top ten best games list, or…" Control Freak demanded.

He then clicked his remote again and the monitor came to life again. The cashier was terrified and claimed that he didn't know what he was talking about. It didn't seem to matter to him though; the monitor was going to attack regardless. Or rather, it would've, if Cyborg hadn't blasted it apart with a sonic cannon that he shot out of his arm. Wow… didn't know he could do that!

"Game over, Control Freak." Robin declared.

"I don't think so Titans! This is only level one!" Control Freak gloated.

He waved his remote all over the place, and various objects in the room, such as TVs, game consoles, controllers, and even the smaller stuff like the little game discs, began to come to life! They began to surround us. The others apparently knew the game plan, but I was left in the dark. Robin never bothered to tell me how we were gonna fight this guy.

"So what's the deal? Going from _Control_ Freak to _Game_ Freak?" Cyborg quipped.

"Hey! TV and video games go hand-in-hand! I do both. So get off my back!" CF responded.

"We're not on your back! But we're… sending you _back_… to… jail?" Link quipped, rather poorly I might add.

Everyone else thought so too. Link could tell from the looks on their faces, and he looked pretty embarrassed right now. I guess he wasn't very good at small-talk. Whatever. Now wasn't the time to wonder. After Robin blurted out 'Titans go' everyone leapt into action; except for me, as I hardly knew what was going on. I did dodge the first attack though, and stayed off to the sidelines until I could figure out how to help. I saw the others fighting back the video monsters. Link was using his sword (which was glowing blue oddly enough) to slice apart controllers and console monsters, although he was also occasionally whacking things with his shield or kicking them back. Starfire was airborne, avoiding game discs that were tailing her and shooting back any with her energy bolts, which I learned she called 'starbolts'. Beast Boy kept changing into different animals to fight; such as a lion, an ox, a kangaroo, a T-rex, a… eh, he changed into too many, I didn't keep track that well. Cyborg was demolishing any rogue monitors that came his way, and Raven was just tossing everything aside and towards other threats using her weird shadow magic powers. I was mainly focused on Robin though, who was fighting everything off with just physical combat. He had no powers, and yet he was taking on an entire army of these things! Why was I so interested in this guy? I wasn't really sure, but from watching all of this action, I was itching to join in!

I decided that I would go after Control Freak himself. If I could get that remote away from him, he'd be defenseless. And fortunately for me, sneaking up on him would be a piece of cake! Y'know, cause I can turn invisible. So I did just that, and carefully but agilely made my way to were CF was. He was still bringing stuff to life with his remote, dancing around like an idiot while doing it. Man, what a dork!

"You gonna fight, or dance?" I asked to get his attention.

"Huh? Who are _you?!_" He asked after he turned around.

"Oh, no one really. 'Cept the girl who's gonna kick your butt!" I proclaimed.

CF looked a bit intimidated at first, but then clicked a button on his remote and three larger remote-like structures came out of a pack on his back. He gripped the two on his sides with his hands and the third one came over his head like a cannon, which kind of made him look like a tank. He claimed that it was device that he had made to render the Titans powers useless. But would it work against me? I don't know, but since he was now covered with all of that machinery, I didn't have to hold back as much.

"Ha ha! This is great! With you hidden behind all of that junk, I can finally use _this!_" I exclaimed.

I held one of my hands out to one side, and the flaming patterns appeared on my arms again. This time though, I decided to form a much more interesting weapon; a japanese-style sword. I swished it around in a show of strength before gesturing to CF to 'bring it on!' CF however, looked dumbfounded, but in the impressed kind of way.

"Whoa! Cool! How'd you do that!" CF shrieked like a fanboy.

"Do what? How I made my sword, or how I twirled it around?" I asked, once again with my ignorance getting the better of me.

CF claimed that he was talking about how I made the sword. I was about to tell him, but soon stopped and told him not to try distracting me. The other Titans had dealt with the stuff that CF had brought to life, and noticed that I was about to take CF head on. Robin yelled at me to think about what I was doing. I answered by telling him that I new exactly what I was doing; I was gonna kick this guy's smug behind! He was about to try to intervene, but Link stopped him, suggesting that they let me handle this one.

"Yeah, Control Freak is an underrated villain. There's no way he's going to beat someone like her!" Beast Boy added.

Although reluctantly, Robin backed down. I couldn't tell if he did so because he wanted to see me actually fight a villain, or if he simply wanted to see me get thrashed. There's no way a dork like this was going to beat me though, so I braced myself, ready for the first move. What CF did first was shoot a weird laser that encased me in a sphere of weird red energy.

"Don't waste your time trying to break free! I designed that molecular forcefield specifically to defeat Starfire!" He gloated.

I don't know if his claim was actually true, but I quickly thrust my sword into the sphere. It broke through, rather easily I might add, and I stood ready for more. CF looked surprised and annoyed.

"That would've worked on Starfire!" He claimed.

From the sidelines I could hear Link claim that it wouldn't have. CF was distracted by the comment, long enough that I was able get in and slice one of his enlarged remotes in half. I was going to slice another one, but CF leapt back, surprisingly agile for a fat guy, and fired out some kind of weird black gunk that covered me and held me in place. CF claimed that he had only recently developed this particular attack for the Titans 'new guy', Link. I wasn't able to use my sword in this position, so I decided to ditch it and try something else. I turned invisible, much to CF's surprise, and just like Robin had been before, he was completely dumbfounded, so much that he swiped his remote across the gunk, which knocked me out of it. It still hurt, but it got me out of it. CF was still looking around for me when I turned visible again, right behind him. Honestly, how many people around here are going to fall for this?!

"Peekaboo!" I said.

That had got his attention, and he quickly turned around, just in time for me to deliver a punch right in his fat face! When he was down on the ground, I quickly made two more swords and cut off his other two remotes, and then pinned him to the ground with my foot.

"Looks like you've run out of extra lives, freak!" I quipped.

Despite the fact that he was about to be hauled off to jail, he claimed that the fight had been awesome and that he'd be back, with new ways to beat the Titans, including me. Honestly, I couldn't really tell if this guy was an actual villain, or some kind of rabid fanboy. Regardless, the other Titans were impressed with my efforts, though I couldn't really tell from Robin.

"Count yourself lucky. If you had been up against a _real_ villain, it wouldn't have been so easy." He told me.

"Well, we'll see if it's luck the next time I fight a villain." I replied.

"You have to admit, she handles herself quite well in battle." Starfire told Robin.

"I don't have to admit _anything. _That invisible trick wouldn't have worked on a _real _villain." Robin claimed.

"If I remember correctly, it worked on _you_, Spikey." I reminded him smugly.

"That's only because I didn't know you could do it! And _don't_ call me Spikey!" He responded angrily.

I still had a smug look on my face, and Link and Starfire giggled very softly. Robin turned his head to them, and they quickly stopped, trying to look like they didn't do it. Robin gave Link a slightly angry glare for a moment before turning to face me again. Did Robin have something against Link or something? After the discussion, we all headed back to the Tower, with Robin keeping a particularly close eye on me. Was this guy ever going to get off my back?!

* * *

Back at the tower, I went straight to the bathroom to wash off that black gunk from before. After my shower, I looked around a little and found a hairdryer. I wasn't sure who it belonged to, but I didn't think they'd mind if I used it. Afterwards, I was about to find a comb, but then I thought it wouldn't be right to use someone else's comb, so I tried something else instead. I concentrated my powers to try and make a comb. I didn't know if a comb qualified as a weapon, but apparently it did because I was able to make one. I was a little surprised, but it was still cool, so I ran my comb construct through my long black hair. Most of the time my hair looked dull, but this time when I was done, my hair was shining; something that I hadn't seen in a long time. The time I spent drying it had also left it really smooth, in contrast to how rough it usually felt. I really hoped that I could get all of this to work, to reconcile for my past of thievery, and become a Titan; because I really didn't want to go back to my old life.

On my way back to the couch in the ops room, I ran into Starfire in the hallway. She looked happy as she mentioned the fact that she was looking for me, and said that she had a surprise for me. She had her hand behind her back, and when she held it out, there was a round, yellow communication device with a big white T in the center.

"It is a Titan communicator. And it is yours!" She informed me.

She handed me the device and smiled even bigger when I took it. What was with this girl? During battle she seemed absolutely vicious, but here she was acting like a happy little schoolgirl or something. Which one was her actual disposition; the aggressive fighter, or this joyous bundle of sunshine? Right now I was focused more on the communicator she gave me.

"You're giving me a communicator? So, that overly serious, spiky-haired masked leader of yours actually trusts me now?" I asked, secretly hoping for her to say yes.

"Well, umm…. not exactly. That communicator is mine. Truthfully, Robin does not know that I am giving it to you." She answered. "_I_ however, give you the acceptance."

Okay, honestly, the way this girl was talking was kinda weirding me out. But the fact that she went behind their glorious leader's back and gave me a communicator was enough for me to be impressed. I thanked her for giving me a chance.

"I welcome you, Scarlette! I have a good feeling that you and I are going to get along just fine!" She told me. "And with some time, I know that Robin will come to trust you as well."

"Uhh… like I care what ol' Spikey thinks!" I responded while blushing slightly.

I felt a little embarrassed at that point, but Starfire merely giggled. She told me _this_ though: for me not to tell Robin that she gave me that communicator. She and I both knew that if Spikey saw me with her communicator that he'd just assume that I stole it. She was about to fly off, but I quickly stopped her. There was one last thing I wanted to ask her.

"So what's the deal with Spikey anyway? And you? Are you and him… you know…?" I asked her.

"Oh! No no no! Robin and I are just good friends." She answered. "Actually, he and I were together in the past, but certain… _circumstances _caused me to break up with him."

"Circumstances? Like what?" I inquired.

"Well… I will tell you more about it later, but for now I will simply say that there was another who needed me more than Robin ever did." She explained.

Turns out she was talking about that Link guy. He actually had major self-confidence issues, and Starfire was around to help him through it. I do admit, the guy did look cute, but there was just something about him that seemed… _off_. Spikey on the other hand was a serious pain in my rear end, but there was something about him that just… drew me.

"Why do you ask this? Do you have some kind of interest in Robin?" She asked me.

"WHAT?! No! Why would I ever be into that porcupine-headed traffic light!" I remarked exuberantly.

"Oh… well, ok. Because if you did have an interest in him, I just want you to know, I don't mind." She told me with a smile.

She then flew off somewhere else. I put my new communicator in my pocket and continued on my way to the couch. To be honest, I actually think that I _was_ into him. Maybe it was in the way he fought me on that night that we first met, or maybe that clonk on my noggin that night made me see him like this. Even if I _did_ like him though, there was no way I was gonna let him know that, not yet anyway. So for now, I'd just stick to calling him names and showing him up in battle. I didn't know if that'd get him to accept me, but one thing was for sure: it was gonna be a lot of fun!


	3. Chapter 3: X Marks the Spot

Chapter Three: X Marks the Spot

The day after our little encounter with Control Freak, the Titans decided that it would be a good idea to do something to relieve ourselves from any stress. Starfire suggested that they all go to the park for a picnic. Link agreed with her, saying that it was a good idea, and the others agreed soon after, although Raven sounded a bit moody when she agreed (to be fair though she almost always sounds like that). I was still sitting on the couch when they were discussing this, and Starfire flew over and asked me if I wanted to come along. I wasn't sure at first, considering my past of keeping myself hidden most of the time; but before I could decide for sure, Starfire grabbed my arm and lifted me off of the couch. I tried to struggle free, but she was _insisting_ that I come along with them. I guess there was no point in arguing, especially with a girl strong enough to punch holes through steel walls, so I decided to come along with them. Before any of us left, Robin once again told me that he'd be keeping his eye on me. Sheesh! Is Spikey _ever_ going to give me a break!

Everyone brought along their own food and games to play; well, everyone except me that is. Still, once we were at the park we all had a good time, including me. Though I did notice that a few people that walked by had given me strange looks. Link noticed this though, and told me that they were probably directing the strange looks at him. But why? I mean, the guy did give off a weird vibe when you're close to him, but other than that he didn't seem _that_ bad. I also noticed that Starfire was putting mustard on her sandwich… I mean, a _lot_ of mustard. I wasn't sure if this was normal for her, or something new.

"Uhh… you want some sandwich with that mustard?" I humorously asked her.

"Oh, my apologies. It is just that I love the mustard! It is my favorite Earth beverage… I mean condiment!" She answered.

I really didn't know how to respond to that, but whatever. Shortly after we had all eaten, Cyborg asked if any of us wanted to play 'foo-ball' as he called it. I assumed that he meant football, and everyone seemed game; everyone except Raven, who was just sitting under a tree meditating. I decided to play too, if only to annoy Spikey. Cyborg said that we should divide ourselves into groups. Almost instantly, Starfire called to be on Link's team and immediately went to his side, causing him to blush a little. Yep, there was definitely something going on between those two, and I could see that it was making Robin a little jealous. I guess he hasn't gotten over her dumping him yet. Beast Boy decided to be on Link's team too, so I guess that meant that Cyborg, Robin, and I were gonna be a team. I nudged Spikey in the shoulder to let him know that, and he responded with a unenthusiastic 'yay.'

We split off into our separate teams and the game began. Beast Boy managed to get the football to Link, who really didn't seem to know what to do with it. Because of this, Robin was able to take the ball from him rather easily. He started running towards our make-believe goal, but wasn't paying attention when Starfire swooped out of nowhere and took the ball from him. That didn't seem fair! She was flying! I ran after her, even though it seemed like a pointless effort. She turned her head to me while still in the air, telling me to 'catch her if I could.' I didn't exactly know how to play this game, but I was determined to whip these guys at their own game. That little thought suddenly gave me an idea; I just remembered that there was a weapon I could use for this exact situation. While still running, I focused and formed a glowing red whip in my right hand. With one crack, it grabbed the football right out of her hands.

"Piece of cake!" I said while twirling the ball on the tip of my finger. "Umm… what am I supposed to do with this again?"

While I was distracted and wondering what to do, Beast Boy, in the form of a hawk, grabbed the ball out of my hand. Then he changed into a wolf and ran towards the goal with the ball in his mouth. Cyborg stopped him though, and grabbed the ball, but he immediately dropped it for the fact that it was covered in BB's saliva. Link came in and picked it up, despite the fact that it was all slimy, and ran towards the goal. It was hard for him to keep hold of it though, so he was half-focused on the goal and half-focused on making sure he didn't drop the ball. Since he wasn't completely paying attention, I was able to get behind him and tackle him to the ground. I took the ball from him and threw it over to Spikey, who was closest to the goal. No one caught him, so he was able to score a touchdown. He, Cyborg, and I shouted in joy from our score. Robin high-fived Cyborg, and then he high-fived me, almost like he forgot the fact that he didn't entirely like me. Almost in an instant, he drew his hand away and turned to the side, as did I, and both of us were blushing slightly. Link, Starfire, and Beast Boy came up to congratulate us.

"Don't congratulate us yet! This was only round one!" I told them.

"Scarlette, their called 'plays' in football." Cyborg told me.

"Whatever. My point is that this game had just begun!" I replied.

Before we could continue though, everyone's communicators began to sound an alarm. The one that Starfire had given me was also ringing within my pocket, and I was hoping that no one had noticed. Robin went to answer his, and told us all that there was a crime in progress at one of the local banks. Yes! An emergency to deal with! That was so much better than playing football! Well, in my opinion anyway. Robin, Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg all hopped into Cyborg's car, the T-Car (gee, how original). I hopped in as well, but I noticed that there were only five seats. I didn't need to worry though, as Starfire was just going to fly there, and Link had a little trick that he used in these kind of situations; he was able to use his spirit powers on his boots to let him run abnormally fast. Umm… okay. Anyway, since our transportation problems had been solved, we all raced off to the crime scene, and I was eager to kick some butt!

* * *

We arrived at the bank to stop whatever criminal had decided to trash the place, but oddly enough it didn't even look like the place had been broken into. Robin mentioned that didn't mean there wasn't trouble. I believed him, but there was still the slight chance that our communicators had given us a false alarm. I couldn't have been more wrong, cause on the inside, the bank vault had been blown open. When we went to investigate, there was no one inside, but then Robin still gave the order for us to search around. Each one of us searched every inch of the bank, but still found nothing. I was beginning to think that ol' Spikey was full of it!

"Titans, don't let your guard down. Keep searching." Robin told us.

"Will you open your eyes already and admit that there's nothing here!" I told him. "Or are you too much of a snob to realize that you might have made a mistake?!"

"Excuse me, little miss pickpocket?! Might I remind you that I am the team leader!" He snarled.

"Big whoop! It doesn't mean you're always right!" I snarled back. "Also, _I'm_ the one who does the name-calling around here, Spikey!"

"You'd better watch it or I'll….!" He began.

"Or you'll what? Give me a red signal, Mr. Traffic Light?!" I interrupted him angrily.

Our arguing kept on for about five minutes, with the other Titans just looking on with freaked out looks on their faces, until Link finally interrupted us. He said that he had heard something, or someone hiding in the shadows. As we paused to look around, from out of nowhere, several X-shaped projectiles flew right at Robin. I got him out of the way just in time (not sure why), and once we were up we readied ourselves for whatever foe we were facing.

"Told ya." Robin told me snidely.

"I said you _might _have made a mistake! Turns out, you didn't." I said a bit awkwardly.

A moment later, I definitely heard someone moving in the shadows, but it was safe to assume that it was only one person. Just one guy? I could take him! Err… I mean _we_ could take him. However, I still had no idea who the guy we were dealing with was, but apparently the others had an idea. Before I could ask though, our opponent leapt out of the shadows and revealed himself. He was dressed in a black jumpsuit and cape, and wore a white mask with a big red x across it. He also wore a belt that looked very similar to Robin's. Actually, this guy resembled Robin greatly, all except for the color, symbols, and the fact that his hair wasn't showing.

"Red X." Robin growled.

"Long time, no see, huh kid?" Red X asked tauntingly.

Red X? _That_ was this guy's name? That was almost as lame as 'Robin'… _almost. _Naming issues aside, Robin demanded that Red X explain his actions here. Though it was actually quite simple; he was robbing the bank. Well, duh! Sometimes I think Spikey gets way in over his head.

"You see, I took a job from these criminals very recently, and they claimed that they'd pay me big for it. That job didn't work out so well, so I decided to come here and 'withdraw' from my 'account'." Red X told us.

"It'd help if you actually _had_ an account!" Beast Boy remarked.

"Let's just say everything here is my account. Or at least it will be, right after I deal with all of you!" He responded.

Right afterwards, he threw several more X-shaped projectiles at us, then leapt on top of one of the vault's gold piles. We all either dodged or blocked his attack, and then went after him. Starfire and Raven tried to head him off, but he threw out two X-shaped devices that binded their arms and cancelled out their flight somehow. Cyborg tried to stop him with his sonic cannon, but X disappeared and then reappeared behind him, then attached a device to Cyborg that sent an electric shock through his body to short him out. Beast Boy attacked him as a lion, but Red X threw out another X that exploded into some kind of red goo that stuck BB to the ground. He tried everything he could to escape, but to no avail. Link was up next, and managed to evade the first few attacks that Red X sent at him. X then extended two X-shaped blades on his wrists and charged towards Link, who intercepted them with his sword.

"Heh. Not bad for a new guy." Red X remarked. "Still not as good as Robin though. In more ways than one."

That remark for some reason made Link angrier, almost as if X's words had pierced something inside him. Unfortunately, Link's anger got the better of him, and although he was attacking mercilessly, X was able to subdue him in some kind of red energy net. Robin then charged towards him, but X jumped out of the way. I tried to catch him, but he was too quick. X gestured towards us, saying 'catch ya later', and vanished. I thought at first that he got away, but turns out Robin had put a tracking device on him while his back was turned. He told me to stay behind to help the others, while he went after X, and then left. What?! Stay here?! And miss all the action?! Not a chance! I turned invisible and chased after him. Fortunately, the signal tracking Red X was displayed on the communicator that Starfire gave me, so it didn't take very long for me to catch up, and neither of them knew I was there.

When I had caught up, I saw Robin and Red X ducking it out at the end of an alley, similar to the one where _we_ fought. They seemed evenly matched at first, but eventually Red X got the upper hand, hit Robin in the back of his head, and knocked him out. He was about to escape, but before he could I reappeared and intervened. I formed my whip, snagged his leg as he jumped, and slammed him back down to the ground. He got back up in time to see me ditch my whip and stand ready for action.

"So, _Red X_ huh? Well, when I'm done with you you'll be _red_ all over!" I quipped, although I'm not sure if that was a good one.

"Who the heck are _you?_" He asked me.

"They call me Scarlette. But _you_ can call me the one who's take you down!" I answered.

"_Scarlette? _And you're teasing _me_ about being red?!" X responded. "So what's the deal with you? You one of Robin's new lackeys?"

"What?! As if! I follow my own agenda, bub!" I replied angrily.

"Eh, whatever. Lackey or not, _no one's_ catching me!" X claimed.

Heh. Bold claim, but whatever. He came at me with a few punches and kicks, but I dodged them. Once I had some room, I decided that I'd try to show ol' Spikey up and use a bo staff to take this guy down. Once I had it in my hands, I used it to block his next wave of attacks, just as efficiently as when I had first practiced with it. When X fired projectiles at me, I spun my bo staff to block them. When he charged at me again, I thrust my staff into the ground and leapt up to it's tip. X stumbled, and I swung down and kicked him in the back. He quickly recovered and tried using that red goo that he used on Beast Boy to subdue me, but I was quick enough to dodge it, and then I tried the same trick that I used on Robin and Control Freak; I turned invisible. X hadn't seen this coming, but unlike Spikey and CF, X seemed to _know_ I had turned invisible. He didn't know I could, but he figured out that I _was_. He stood completely still, prepared for where and when I would strike. I was going to get him up close from behind, but he was probably expecting that, so instead I tried getting him from a distance with my whip. He managed to dodge it, but I could tell that I was wearing him out, so I made a pair of nun-chucks and went in for some close combat. Each of us hit each other with a few blows, with neither of us letting up even for an inch. After a few more hits, X and I were both forced back, but still ready for more.

"I have to say, you're as good as you look, girl." Red X commented.

Oh brother. Was he hitting on me?! He better not, or else he's the one who's gonna get hit! But before he could pull off another attack, something hit him from behind that completely froze the upper part of his body! Neither of us knew what happened at first, but it turns out that Link had fired an ice arrow from behind. He and the other Titans had recovered from Red X's traps, and had come to help. Cyborg and Raven went over to help Robin up, who was just now regaining consciousness.

"What happened?" He asked.

"That Red X guy whacked you in the back of the head and knocked you out." I informed him. "Good thing I was here to pick up your slack, huh?"

"I told you to stay behind and help the others! You ignored my orders!" He snapped at me.

"Hey! If I hadn't followed you, X would've gotten away! Show a little gratitude!" I snapped back.

"The day that I show you gratitude is the day I take off this mask in front of everyone!" Robin claimed.

"Well, maybe that'll… wait, you don't take that thing off?" I asked.

Before our argument could continue, Cyborg interrupted us, telling us to get over here so we could interrogate Red X. X was still frozen, but who knows how long that ice would hold him. We had him surrounded just in case, and Robin started the interrogation by asking Red X what he was planning.

"I've told you before, kid; I'm a thief. I take what I want. Looking out for number one. That sort of thing." X claimed. "And after my most recent job, I needed to cash in on something new."

"And what exactly was that 'job?'" Robin asked.

"Heh. Well, I guess it might annoy them if I tell you…" He began. "I was hired by these freaks to steal something from the museum of Bludhaven; a relatively new artifact called the 'Phantom Hourglass.' Why anyone would be interested in a dusty old hourglass was beyond me, but they were offering me a large reward and it sounded like an easy job, so I got the hourglass for them. But when I handed it over, I was double-crossed. They said that my reward was that they'd 'let me live,' and then told me to beat it. I was really ticked, so I came here to 'compensate' for it."

"Things just aren't going your way, huh? That's what you get for choosing the life of a thief." I told him.

"You're one to talk." Robin remarked.

As he turned to face Red X again, I quickly stuck my tongue out at him, then quickly looked away when he looked at me in response.

"Having some girl troubles, huh?" Red X asked Robin.

"Shut it!" Robin snarled as he grabbed X by what little scruff of neck was unfrozen. "Who were the people who hired you?! Why did they want that hourglass?!"

"They never told me their names. One of them was a skinny pale guy in a red cape, and the other guy wasn't even human; he was this weird floating mask with tentacles coming out of it." X answered.

I had no idea who he was talking about, but the others knew exactly who he was describing. They blurted out two names: Ghirahim, and Majora. Those two names were the weirdest I've heard yet. I asked the others who they were talking about, and their descriptions of the two seriously freaked me out. Ghirahim was this pale white-haired man in a red cape and white unitard. He claimed to be a Demon Lord and had powers that included summoning daggers and swords, and teleportation. Plus, he had stalked Link when the guy had to leave on a three-year journey around the world. He sounded like a real creep, but the description for Majora sounded even worse. Majora was a mask that came to life after Link and Starfire accidentally freed it from a deserted island. The last time they encountered it, it took a form with sharp teeth, a flaming serpentine body, and eight tentacles coming out of it's back. From what they told me, Majora was completely insane and delighted in destruction and the torture of others. So far, he has been the most dangerous foe the Titans have ever faced, and I was both eager and a little frightened to face him.

"There was a third one there too. A man in black armor, who claimed to be a god. He was the one who gave me the deal to 'let me live.'" X mentioned.

The description of this third villain didn't sound familiar to any of us. Robin demanded that Red X tell us more, but before we could get anything else out of him, X broke one of his arms free and threw down a smokescreen. None of us could see what was going on, but when the smoke cleared, Red X was gone. I pulled out my communicator and claimed that the tracking signal on Red X said that he was still here, but after looking around a little I noticed that the tracking device was on the ground. It must've been knocked off during our fight. I informed the others of this, but Robin was more concerned with what was in my hand.

"Where did you get that communicator?" He asked me with an angry tone.

I looked back and forth at the communicator in my hand and towards him, then quickly concealed the communicator behind my back. I smiled nervously, but the angry look on his face only grew angrier, and my nervous smile just turned into a nervous look.

"Uhh… I can explain!" I claimed.

Before Robin could tell me off, no doubt about to assume that I had stolen the communicator from one of the others, Starfire interrupted him.

"Robin! Do not blame Scarlette! She did not steal anything! _I_ gave her that communicator!" She informed him.

"What?! You? Starfire, why would you give your communicator to… to…_ her!_" He inquired, pointing towards me afterwards.

"Because… I believe that you are acting much too harsh on Scarlette." Starfire claimed. "She is trying very hard to make up for her past mistakes, and I feel that you are not giving her much of a chance. At the very least you should treat her like a friend instead of a prisoner."

Robin hesitated for a minute, for Starfire's words had apparently sunken in. Well, halfway at least. He told her that he would ease up on me a little; in other words, he'd let me keep the communicator.

"Thank you, Robin! I'm sure you will come to see Scarlette as a friend soon!" She told him.

Robin then walked up to me, and said I could keep the communicator, but that he'd still be keeping an eye on me. I once again told him that I knew that; I mean, he's already told me that at least 100 times. He then turned to face everyone else, telling us that we needed to head back to the Tower. The others were kinda bummed out to hear that, considering that meant that we had to cancel the rest of our picnic, but Robin claimed that he needed to look into this whole situation; to find out what Ghirahim, Majora, and this strange third villain were up to.

* * *

Back at the tower, I was off in the training room practicing against some wooden targets. I was currently using a bo staff, and swinging it around like it was nothing. Once I had broken all of my targets, I stood in my 'cool-like' stance just for fun.

"Eat your heart out, Spikey!" I said to myself.

Turns out though, I wasn't alone. I turned around to see Link and Starfire in the doorway. They were clapping; I guess they were impressed with how well I handled myself with a bo staff or something.

"That was excellent!" Starfire claimed.

"Yeah! Nice job, Scarles!" Link said.

"Heh. It was nothing, I just…" I began, but stopped short in response to what he just called me. "_Scarles?_"

"Yeah. It's a shorter way of saying Scarlette. Y'know, for fun." He told me.

"Hmm… yeah, I see what you did there. I like it!" I replied.

Starfire giggled in joy at the fact that we were all getting along so well. Link and Starfire appeared to have a very strong friendship. I was kind of envious of that. I sighed and looked at my glowing bo staff.

"I just wish I could hear complements like that from Spikey." I said.

"You mean Robin? Yeah, the guy can be a… a…" Link began to say.

"Jerk, sometimes?" Starfire finished for him.

"Eh… something like that. He doesn't entirely trust anyone. But he'll warm up to you, just wait and see." Link told me.

"I hope you're right. Not that I like him or anything like that! Heh heh!" I said a little nervously. "But it'd be nice if he'd get off my back!"

A moment later, Link and Starfire asked if it would be okay if they used the training room along with me. With the word of Majora and Ghirahim's activities, they felt like they should be ready. I didn't have any problems with it, so the three of us all used the training room together. They had come in here to train with their swords; Link's was called the Master Sword, and Starfire's was called the Spirit's Sword. I didn't even know she had a sword until now, and it looked really cool; the hilt was shaped like a pair of wings, with each 'feather' having a tip of red, blue, and green, and the blade had four gemstones embedded in it and gold markings across it. It was about as long as Link's sword, and both looked like they've seen some intense battles. I decided to join in their training, so I formed a sword with my powers and trained as they did.

It was almost nine-o-clock when we were done training, and before we headed off to our rooms (or in my case, the couch) for some sleep, Starfire mentioned that she had an idea. Her suggestion was a double date, as a way to get Robin to warm up to me.

"WHAT?!" Both Link and I blurted out.

"Yes! This way, Robin could see for himself just how good of a person you are, Scarlette; and he will treat you as a friend!" She explained.

I noticed that Link was sweating a little, and looked kind of awkward.

"Are you sure this isn't just a way for you and Link to go out without Robin getting on your case?" I questioned.

"Well, that is part of the reason…" she claimed with a slightly guilty look. "But it is mostly for you. I really want Robin to like you."

"So that he won't bug you and Link anymore." I assumed.

She attempted to find a counter-statement, but I told her that it was cool and that I was in on it. She asked Link if he was interested in the idea, and although he still looked like a nervous wreck, he agreed. I guess it was settled then: Link, Starfire, Robin, and I would all go on a double date tomorrow. Well, that is… if ol' Spikey would agree to even step out of the tower with me.


	4. Chapter 4: Date Trouble

Chapter Four: Date Trouble

It was around noon when I decided to try asking Robin if he wanted to come hang out with me, Link, and Starfire in the city on a double date. I looked nearly everywhere in the tower and still couldn't find him. Link and Starfire were ready whenever I was, but I obviously wasn't ready; I couldn't find Spikey anywhere! Starfire mentioned that there was a very high chance that he was alone in the evidence room with the door closed, and that he was doing research on the villains that we were inevitably going to be up against. While I do agree that it is best to be prepared for future battles, he has likely been in there all day, and needs to get out for some air, whether he wanted to or not; and I was girl who was gonna go and drag him outside! Well, I was going to_ try_ anyway. I didn't know how long it would take to get through to him, but Starfire insisted that I take my time, and that she and Link would hang out in the ops room until then.

I stood outside of the evidence room, which from the outside was just a plain-looking automatic door, although it did have a small sign placed on it that said 'do not disturb.' It didn't take three guesses to figure out who put it there. Spikey didn't want to be bugged, but I was going in anyway. However, I decided to have a little fun with this, so I turned invisible and then opened the door. Inside, Spikey was standing over a table that was illuminated with only one small light, and the table was covered in newspaper clippings and printed documents. He was so focused on his research that he didn't even notice the door behind him had been opened.

I quietly snuck up to him, until I was right behind him, peeking over his shoulder. He was reading an article in the paper about a sighting of some kind of tentacled monster, most likely Majora. Apparently this thing was beginning to make it's presence known, and right now, while he was still focused on his research, I was gonna make _my_ presence known to _him_.

"Peekaboo!" I blurted out loudly as I turned visible.

I had expected him to flinch or something, but all he did was raise his head in response, and he didn't even look surprised.

"What are _you_ doing in here?" Spikey grumpily asked me.

I didn't want to tell him about the double date just yet; I knew he wouldn't agree right off the bat, plus I wanted to mess with him a little more.

"I was bored. So I decided to sneak in here and give you the pleasure of my company!" I told him.

"Your company is anything _but_ pleasure. Besides, I'm busy right now." He replied.

"Yeah? Well tough beans, Spikey! Maybe your ex would've beat it if you told her that, but _I'm_ not going anywhere! You're getting my company whether you want it or not!" I snapped.

He looked really pissed right now, but I knew that he wasn't really gonna do anything about it, so I just stood next to him while looking smug.

"You're like a bad itch, you know that?" Spikey grumbled.

"Yeah. And no amount of ointment is gonna make me go away." I joked. "So what was so important that you had to box yourself in here anyway?"

"If you must know, I was doing research on our two newest foes; Ghirahim and Majora. After what they did to us the last time, I want to be ready if they decide to attack again." He told me.

I asked him what happened the last time they encountered them. He didn't want to tell me at first, but I kept asking until he was so annoyed that he told me. The story wasn't a good one: In their last encounter, Ghirahim and Majora had captured all of them, chained them to the insides of giant spires, and drained their energy to revive some kind of wind demon. Maybe I hadn't ever had the energy taken from my body, but I could understand the situation that they had all been in, because of how people had tried using me in the past.

"Whoa. That must've been tough for all of you." I assumed.

"Yeah. Just one of the many things I've gone through that… majorly sucked." Robin told me.

By things that 'majorly sucked,' I assumed that one of those things was Starfire breaking up with him. As nosy as I was being right now, I wasn't going to poke my nose into that. Instead, I told him about how Link, Starfire, and I were all going to go hang out in the city today.

"We were all wondering if you'd like to come with us. You could probably use a little break from… uhh… _this_." I claimed.

"I appreciate the offer, but…" He began to tell me, but I wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer just like that.

"Oh no, you're not weaseling your way out of this one! Star may have just given up, but I'm getting you out of here even if I have to drag you out!" I snapped.

Robin gave me a very nasty look, and was probably thinking of a counter-statement, but before he could I told him that Star would really like it if he came along. He had figured out by now that this whole thing was a double date between me and him, and Link and Starfire. While he didn't seem to like the idea at first, something in his mind had clicked and a somewhat devious smile appeared on his face.

"Okay. I'll come along." He told me.

"Really?! Err… I mean, alright, that's cool, whatever." I responded, trying to hide the fact that I was glad that he was coming.

Despite my slightly rude response, Spikey didn't seem perturbed by it. He still had a slightly devious look, and something was telling me that he was coming along for a reason other than to just have fun.

* * *

Robin and I walked into the ops room to find Starfire and Link sitting on the couch and talking about something. The moment they saw us though, they immediately stood up, both with big smiles on their faces.

"Scarlette! You have succeeded in removing Robin from doing the research!" Starfire said happily.

"Yeah. It was a bit more difficult than I thought, but I did it." I responded.

"Well, that's great! We could all stand to get a little sunshine today." Link claimed. "So Robin, you… you're cool with me hanging out with Starfire, right?"

As he asked that, Link looked kinda nervous. Seriously? Link was scared of Robin? What could ol' Spikey do to Link? It looked like Link could kick Spikey's butt easily if he wanted to. Regardless, Robin told him that he was perfectly fine with it, though he still had that same devious look on his face that he had when I had convinced him to come along. What was Spikey up to? More importantly, why was _I_ the one wondering this?

We spent a few minutes deciding where we would go, and decided on three places; first the park, then the movie theater, and then the pier. Link had suggested that we visit this one spring located near his hometown, but Starfire quickly suggested against it, saying that it was not only too far of a location for all four of us, but that it was also, currently, a special place for just her and Link. I looked towards Robin, seeing a sour look on his face. I wonder if he was thinking, 'what? I'm not 'special enough for this spring?!' I wasn't sure, but I patted his shoulder trying to cheer him up. It didn't work, but even so, he didn't dwell on the thought for long. Once we had decided on our destinations, the four of us walked to the front door and exited the tower. Robin punched a code into one of the tower's security panels, and a long, straight walkway rose out of the bay in front of us, so we could walk from the tower to the city. That was a relief. For a moment I thought we would either have to swim across, or have Starfire fly the rest of us across.

Once we were in the park, we really didn't have anything to do other than just walk around. Even so, Link and Starfire seemed into it. Star even put one of her arms around his and came really close to him as they walked. Spikey and I though just walked normally, and he had a sour look on his face again as he watched Starfire, who was still walking close to Link. Starfire started giggling, and so did Link, which caused Robin to stop abruptly and just growl in anger. I thought about trying to walk as close to him as Starfire was to Link, but I had a feeling that would be a bad idea. So instead, I just put my elbow on top of his shoulder and gave him a compelling look of sorts. It didn't change anything though, he just stepped to the side, causing me to fall down. I quickly got back up and gave him a look that was just as sour as his. He wasn't paying attention though and just continued walking to catch up with Link and Starfire. I caught up with them soon after, but I was beginning to wonder if this guy would ever see me as a friend.

Next up was the movie theater. Link had suggested that we see an adventure flick, saying that it kind of reminded him of the journey he took in the past. Starfire also thought it was a good idea, assuming that it was something that we could all enjoy. The happy looks on their faces were seriously pissing off Spikey. He suggested that we all see a horror movie. A horror movie? That seemed a little out of place for this kind of trip. I mean, I liked a good shock as much as the next person, but this was supposed to be a _fun_ date. The rest of us weren't sure about it, but Spikey ruled us all out by declaring that he was the leader and that he would decide what we would see. He was seriously using his position as 'leader' to get his way? Typical. I could tell that he wasn't going to change his mind. Whatever. But I told him that if he was forcing us to see this movie, he had to pay for all of us. He growled at the idea, but agreed. Something was telling me that he picked this movie for a reason.

The movie featured this hideous-looking green monster with red eyes and tentacles that attacked people when they weren't looking. Link, Starfire, and Robin all looked kinda frightened. Even I had to admit, this movie was pretty freaky. It was so suspenseful that we had hardly even touched any of our popcorn or soda. Link and Starfire were shivering a little; Robin looked chill, but at the same time he still looked freaked; and I was scared enough that I almost formed a sword and tossed it at the screen (my better judgment told me not to though). At the movie's climax, the movie monster nearly popped off the screen, which was really freaky, even with our 3D glasses. Starfire was so surprised that she leaned over to her left and clung to Link, who blushed furiously (obviously forgetting that he was scared). Robin saw this, and the fear he was feeling now turned into spite. His fists were clenched, almost if he wanted to punch Link. My reaction to all of this was that I merely slumped down in my chair, annoyed from this whole outcome. Now _I_ was beginning to get pissed off.

After the movie, we headed for the pier, but on the way there something less than favorable happened. Spikey still looked pissed off, and the pissed off looks were mainly directed towards Link, especially when he got close to Starfire (or rather, when Star got close to _him_). I think I had just deduced what was going on here, and exactly why Spikey had even agreed to come along at all. As he was still focused on Link and Starfire and thinking whatever it was he was thinking, I let out everything that I was assuming.

"Hey! Wait just one minute here!" I snapped at him. "Did you only agree to go out with me just so you could make Starfire _jealous_?! Because in case you haven't noticed… IT ISN'T WORKING!"

My little outburst had caught Link and Starfire's attention, although Spikey was still in the same position that he was before I shouted. I wasn't done yet, though; Spikey was gonna hear everything that was on my mind!

"Honestly! Here I am, trying to get you to have some fun, but all you can think about is trying to get the attention of a girl who's no longer into you! She dumped you, she's done with you, GET OVER IT!" I continued complaining. "You'd think that with her coming along that maybe you might actually chill, but nooooo, you're more interested in researching criminals and closing yourself off from everyone like some Batman wanna-be or something and…!"

"SHUT UP ALREADY!" Spikey screamed angrily at me, right in my face.

Starfire gasped at Robin's hideous display of anger, and Link looked _really_ nervous, as if he was afraid that Robin's anger would lash out at him. I wanted to respond to him just as angrily, but even though I wanted to, something within me was keeping me from doing so at first. It was as if he wasn't just telling me to shut up _now_, but to shut up _forever_. It's like his words were a sword, and that sword was thrust through my heart.

"…Fine! I can see that it's obvious that I'm not wanted around here! I'll just go back to the tower! I'd rather be there than here, being yelled at by a big jerk!" I shouted towards him.

Tears were beginning to form in my eyes, but I turned and began walking off before anyone could notice. I bet even if Spikey _had_ seen me in tears, he wouldn't care at all; not even a little! All he cares about is getting his way!

* * *

I contacted someone at the tower and asked them to raise the tower walkway for me. Once inside the tower, I was greeted by Beast Boy, who almost immediately noticed something was wrong. He asked if I was alright, and I told him I was fine. That was a lie though; I was anything_ but_ fine. I decided that I would go down to the basement and find the farthest, darkest corner, and just sit there for the rest of my life. A basement is where you keep everything you don't want, and I'm clearly not wanted around here.

Once in the basement, I sat in the darkest corner of the room. It was all dusty, but what did I care. What did anyone care? Especially Spikey. All I did was try to be his friend, and all he does is use me to try and get his ex jealous. It wasn't as bad as when I had been used by criminals for my powers, but it hurt just as bad; if not worse. I sat there for nearly two hours, trying to hold back the tears and failing, until I heard someone coming down the basement stairs. They turned on the lights and called my name. It was Robin. What was Spikey doing down here? Why was he looking for me? Probably to take back the communicator that Starfire had given me. After a few minutes, he found me in the corner.

"Scarlette?" Spikey asked to get my attention. "What are you doing down here?"

I just sat there with my head down, trying to ignore him. I didn't ignore for long though, and after a few sniffles, I responded.

"I could ask you the same thing." I answered.

Spikey sat down beside me and told me that he had been looking all over the tower for me, and that he was concerned. Concerned for _me?_ I found that hard to believe.

"Starfire wasn't too happy with how I treated you earlier. She gave me a good scolding. It, umm… wasn't pretty." He told me.

"She shouted at you?" I asked.

"Shouted at me?! Heh. That's an understatement. She practically exploded in anger in front of me!" He replied. "She told me about everything. How _she_ had arranged the double date, and how she wanted you and me to get along. Something's telling me that she's trying to act as a matchmaker."

I giggled softly at the whole concept, mainly at the fact that Star had scolded him. I wondered if anything she scolded him about had sunken in at all.

"You know… maybe I have been too harsh on you." He told me.

"Well… I can't blame you that much. After all, I _am_ an ex-theif." I admitted.

"Even so…. it doesn't really justify how I've been treating you. I guess I could ease up a little bit." He responded, smiling afterwards.

I giggled again, and then for a few minutes there was a rather awkward silence between us. I was the one to break the silence.

"You know… I don't call you names to be mean." I informed him. "You know that, right?"

Spikey laughed a little, and claimed that he had a feeling that the name-calling had been more than just a way of teasing him. He asked me if the reason I did it was because I liked him. I denied it at first, but he kept smiling at me, which made me blush. I liked his smile, even if it had to be under that creepy mask he always wears. Practically an instant after I had denied it, I re-answered his question with a very soft 'yes,' but it was loud enough that he could hear it. Even so, he decided to change the subject. He was curious as to how I knew about Batman, despite the fact that I had amnesia. I simply told him that I read about him in newspapers and magazines that were lying around the hideout of the gang I used to be in; I may have amnesia, but I didn't forget how to read.

"Y'know, now that you mention Batman, I've noticed that you look a lot like that kid who used to hang around him? You even have the same name. Are you like, trying to mimic him or something?" I asked him.

"Uhh… no. I am him. I'm Robin. I used to be Batman's sidekick." He answered, albeit in a unenthusiastic tone.

"Really? Cause from what I heard, the Robin who hung out with Batman seemed a whole lot more amusing." I questioned.

"Things… changed. I'm not that little kid anymore. Ol' Bats didn't wanna admit that though. I got fed up with him and left." He told me.

"Whoa. Does Starfire know this?" I inquired.

Robin claimed that Starfire did not know any of this, or about him being Batman's former sidekick. He said that the fact that she only knew him as Robin, and just Robin, was one of the reasons he liked her so much. But then Link came back into the picture, and she wanted to make up for the lost time, and it became apparent that she liked Link more than she liked Robin. Though he also admitted that he may have acted in the wrong ways towards Link, but at the same time neither him nor Starfire wanted him to 'lose it' again. When I asked him what he meant by that, he told me that Link had gotten really jealous before and turned into some kind of demon, and nearly killed everyone. Starfire brought him back to normal, but Link is still afraid that something like that might happen again if he's not careful. Robin also mentioned how he had fared badly against Link when he was a demon, and got his butt kicked… hard. Considering that, I couldn't blame him for not wanting to get the guy angry, but also thought that it was kinda stupid of him to act mean towards Link and risk him 'losing it' again. I expected him to give me a sour look, but he actually agreed with me on that.

"Y'know… _I_ don't think of you as only Batman's sidekick… You're a really cool guy, Robin…" I told him.

He was silent for a moment, thinking of what to say. The next thing he told me was a surprise.

"Richard… my real name… is Richard. Richard Grayson. Err… Dick for short." He told me.

"Ehh… Dick? Hmm… I think I'll stick with Spikey." I replied.

He quietly growled, but quickly got over it. He claimed that he told me his real name because he didn't wanna make the same mistake that he made with Starfire; he didn't want to keep too many secrets. Turns out, Spikey had never told Star his real name. Seriously? After all the years that he had been around her, she didn't even know his actual name?! I guess one can't entirely blame the girl for dumping him. Robin actually preferred that I _didn't_ call him by his real name though. He felt that if people figured out his true identity, that they might figure out Batman's true identity. Spikey thought he was a jerk, but he was still like a father to him. Well, who better to tell all this to than a girl with amnesia. I promised him that I wouldn't go blabbing.

After our conversation, the two of us got up and dusted ourselves off. This had been the best conversation with Spikey I've had yet, but I think that we could both agree that a relationship between us wasn't going to happen, at least not yet. On the way back upstairs, he turned his head towards me and once again told me that he'd still be keeping an eye on me, except this time he told me with a smile.

"I'll be looking forward to it…. _Spikey_." I responded, also with a smile.

* * *

The moment we got back into the ops room, a light on the tower's computer started flashing. Robin went over to investigate, and confirmed that someone was messaging us. He called the other Titans to gather in the ops room so everyone could see this message. Once the others had arrived, Robin pressed a button on the computer and the one messaging us appeared on the tower's monitor, where the TV was normally displayed. The person giving the message was a man that none of us had ever seen before, and he looked terrifying! He wore pitch-black armor and a greek-style helmet that concealed most of his face, save for his two red eyes. He spoke to us in a deep, menacing voice.

"Good afternoon, Titans. A pleasure to finally meet all of you." The man said.

"Who are you?" Robin demanded.

"My apologies. An introduction is an order. You may call me Ares. Although I am better known as the God of War." He claimed.

God of War?! Was this guy for real?! Hold on... was this the guy that Red X had told us about the other day? I couldn't tell if the others believed it either, but they were definitely wary of this guy.

"I have heard of the exploits of the Titans. I hear you six are rather skilled warriors." Ares assumed.

"No kidding!" Beast Boy responded.

"The only thing _you're_ qualified as a 'warrior' in is demolishing tofu." Cyborg told BB.

Beast Boy scowled at Cyborg's joke. It sounded about right though; Beast Boy did eat a _lot _of tofu. Ares though, did not seem amused.

"I will be arriving in you city very soon. I plan on observing your fighting skills in person, and see if you really deserve the title of 'Titans.'" He informed us, ominously laughing afterwards.

I stepped up to the monitor and stood next to Spikey. I still didn't know if this guy was really a god or not, but I planned on making my presence known.

"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get! They don't call us 'Titans' for nothing!" I told him.

Ares looked upon me strangely, like he was surveying me. His red eyes squinted, making him look even more ominous.

"Oh. It's _you_. I had been wondering when the Titans would pick _you_ up, little girl. I can now say that this challenge will be a lot more…_ interesting._" Ares claimed. "You had best prepare yourselves Titans; I will not stand for anything less than your best. Especially from _you_, girl."

Ares had directed that last statement towards me. The message ended after that, and we were all still confused. Was that guy really what he claimed to be? None of us were sure, but both Robin and Raven decided to look into the whole thing. As for the rest of us, Robin gave us an order to start training for this encounter. We had to be ready for whenever Ares decided to show up. One thing was bugging me though; Ares seemed to be particularly interested in me, but why? I had never met anyone like this before, unless… did this have something to do with my life from before I got amnesia? Did Ares know something about me that I didn't?


	5. Chapter 5: The God of War

Chapter Five: The God of War

It had been two days since we had all received the message from Ares, this so-called god of war, and since then Link, Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and I had been training intensely to prepare for our soon-to-be encounter with him. Robin was looking up every bit of info he could about Ares, from researching mythology to looking into more recent happenings. Raven was researching too, but she was looking amongst her books, some of which were ancient. Some of the others thought that it was unfair that they had to do all of this preparation while Robin and Raven had the easy job. I thought it a little unfair too; but hey, I like to fight, so to me it was their loss.

Most of the time we spent training was among the obstacle course right outside the tower. It was an impressive layout; it had laser turrets, steel gates, pitfalls, and all sorts of other stuff designed to mess us up. The others had already done this obstacle course hundreds of times, and they were pretty good at it. When I tried, I did trip up a few times, but I always managed to get back on my feet and finish. I didn't break any course records, but everyone said that I had done good.

"I just hope that 'good' is enough to beat this 'Ares' guy." I mentioned. "You think he was bluffing when he said he was the god of war?"

"Who can say? But there's always the chance. I mean, we've faced pretty strong opponents in the past." Link said.

The others nodded in agreement. Plus, Starfire mentioned that Ghirahim and Majora were still out there too, so it was best that we prepare for all three of them. Whoever these guys were, they must've been really dangerous if everyone was _this_ concerned. As it would just so happen, both Robin and Raven came out of the tower, apparently done with their research.

"Well, look who's decided to join us!" I said to both of them. "Did you two bookworms find out anything useful?"

Robin rolled his eyes in response to my statement, although it was hard to tell from under his mask. Well, it was better than him snarling at me; I was glad that Spikey was beginning to warm up to me. Back on the topic at hand, both Robin and Raven had dug up some info on Ares. It wasn't a lot of info, but it was something.

"According to all of the online sources I read, Ares is the Greek God of War, whose only desire is to cause eternal conflict amongst humans." Robin explained. "Apparently, he has also gone toe-to-toe with the Justice League. They've beaten him, but it wasn't easy."

"When are battles _ever_ easy?" Link asked rhetorically.

But that was not all of the info they had. Raven had uncovered a bit more from her books.

"Ares is not _just_ the God of War, he is also partly the God of the Dead. He has the power to raise the dead and make them follow his every command." Raven explained. "He also draws his power from conflict. Any amount of violence, anger, hatred, or bloodshed will make him stronger and can heal any wounds he receives in battle."

That all sounded scary. I was beginning to hope that this guy was just bluffing about being a god, because if he could heal himself simply by being in battle, we'd have a hard time bringing him down.

"That's not all…" Raven continued. "Ares also has the ability to teleport. But worst of all, he has the power to command any weapon; including the weapons of others."

Ares had the power to control any weapon?! Even any of ours?! That would be even worse, considering the fact that my power is making weapons. Although, my weapons are more like weapon constructs rather than actual, physical weapons. Would he be able to use those? Robin looked a little worried; he used a lot of weapons as well. But he was also very skilled at hand-to-hand combat, and so was I. I guess all we really had to worry about was being caught unprepared. Speaking of unprepared, it just so happened that right after the explanation, the alarms on all of our communicators went off. There was some kind of emergency downtown; someone wrecking the city or something. We got ourselves ready and rushed off into the city, prepared to rumble with whatever creep we had to deal with.

* * *

Once we had arrived downtown, to our surprise there was no one there! I suggested that it may have been a false alarm, but Robin disagreed. He brought up the fight against Red X that happened the other day; there had been no one around at first in that scenario too. I was about to argue with him, but remembering that situation, and remembering the fact that Spikey was actually beginning to warm up to me, I decided to cork it. There was no one here, but the area had definitely been ravaged; but by what? Spikey ordered us to split up and look around the area for anything suspicious. I decided to stick with him while we searched; y'know, cause I like bugging him.

"So Spikey… who do you think we might be dealing with?" I asked him.

"Probably someone big. It could be Cinderblock, Plasmus, or maybe…" Robin replied.

He cut himself off before he finished though, because at that moment we heard something behind us. At first, I thought it may have just been some leftover rubble falling, but that assumption was sent out the door when I saw two small red eyes pop out of the wall behind us. The eyes were then followed by a head with black markings, and then followed by a large white humanoid body. Whatever this thing, it seemed like it had just phased out of the wall! How was that even possible?! The monster threw a punch at both of us, but we jumped out of the way in time. Robin pulled out his communicator and called the other Titans, telling them to get to where he was; saying that "that _thing_ is back."

"What the heck is this thing?!" I asked hastily.

"We're not entirely sure. But it's been popping up in the city every now and then, and wrecks wherever it appears." Robin answered. "It's been appearing more often since Link came back from his journey, and not only that but since then it's gotten more and more dangerous."

As he told me this, the monster grabbed a piece of concrete and gripped it tightly. The concrete was crushed, but before that the monster's entire body became coated in concrete, like it had absorbed the material. So this thing could phase into stuff, and become stuff?! This fight was gonna be… interesting, to say the least. The monster attacked us again, but we dodged it again and it ended up punching into a nearby wall. It's concrete hand crumbled away; I guess it wasn't using the right stuff. By now the others had arrived and immediately recognized the monster. The monster looked over at us, and particularly noticed Link. It's eyes contracted as if it was scanning him. Then it's eyes began glowing red, and it's body bulked up to twice it's normal size. It's head also changed and looked way more menacing, with a mouth full of sharp teeth to boot.

"Whoa! The mouth is new!" Beast Boy remarked.

I was assuming that it hadn't taken a form like this before, but I was informed that it had changed in the past, not only by absorbing stuff but also by simply 'scanning' certain people; and by certain people, they meant Link. The now much more intimidating monster grabbed a nearby metal pole and absorbed it, turning it's body into metal. It roared a grotesque roar and then charged at us. Cyborg responded by throwing a punch right at the monster's jaw. It stumbled back, but it's skin was apparently really tough, as Cyborg was rubbing his fist afterwards. Once back on it's feet, the monster slammed both fists into the ground, causing a mini-quake that made us lose our balance momentarily. Was this part of it's strategy, or just a show of power? Either way, the monster attacked us again, and this time Starfire came in and pummeled the monster, denting it in several places and knocking it back into the wall with a thud. This caused the glass of a nearby convenience store to shatter, and a lava lamp that was on display fell and cracked open, spilling it's contents onto the ground. The monster noticed this when it got back up, and placed it's hands into the 'lava.' It absorbed it, and it's entire body became just like the 'lava' that was in the lamp, from the glow to the blistering heat. Okay… this was gonna make things more difficult.

Cyborg fired his sonic cannon straight at the monster's chest, but it just went right through the monster's now-molten body. It then swiped it's arm towards us and a ton of molten goo came flying at us. Raven blocked it with a shadow barrier, and then Link ran up to the monster and tried slashing it while his eyes were glowing blue; I guess he was using that weird spirit mode power he's able to use. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything. The monster's body was too hot and molten that Link's sword just went right through. At least it wasn't hot enough to melt his sword. Then again, Link's sword is no ordinary sword. Regardless, the monster lunged at Link, but Starfire swooped in and got him out of the way before the monster's attack could burn his face off. Robin threw one of his freeze discs at it, but it only remained frozen for a second because, well, duh, it was made of lava. The monster jumped towards us and spewed a stream of fire from its mouth in a circle to try and burn all of us. Most of us either got out of the way, or blocked it using various methods, such as Link using his shield or Raven using a barrier.

Beast Boy stood near a broken off fire hydrant and took a big gulp from the water spewing out. That was kinda gross if you ask me, but in a moment I saw what he was doing. He changed into an elephant and spewed the water from his trunk at the monster. While he was trying to put it out, I decided that I'd get in on this action too! I concentrated my powers and formed a hammer, a _massive_ hammer. Since it was a construct though it didn't weigh that much to me. While BB was still concentrating on dousing the monster, I snuck up behind it unseen and readied my hammer right over the ugly thing's head. The monster wasn't lava anymore, as it had absorbed the water that BB sprayed at it and now had a body made of water. It hardly mattered though, because I was about to smash this thing's head in!

"Time to mash this melon!" I shouted.

The monster reacted to this, but it wasn't quick enough. I sent my hammer down onto the monster's head, causing a big splash as the monster's water body came apart. All that was left of the thing was it's head, which had changed back to the way it was when we first encountered it, except that it's eyes were now just straight black. The other Titans came over to inspect, and Link told me that my attack had been 'smashing,' although he got some rather skeptical looks from the others. Seriously, this guy needed to work on his quips. Then again, they questioned what I had said before I smashed the thing too.

"Well, the thing's body was made of water, right? And people use hammers to open watermelons sometimes, right?" I claimed.

I guess it wasn't a very good quip, but it was enough that Link and Starfire laughed. However, we couldn't celebrate just yet, because as it would turn out, the monster wasn't dead. The water surrounding it gathered around it's head, and it rose up slightly, most likely trying to reform it's body. Robin tried stoping it with a freeze disc, but the monster dodged and escaped down a sewage outlet.

* * *

We were about to give chase, but we were stopped by a menacing voice from out of nowhere. We turned around to see a tall man dressed in black armor and wearing a greek-style helmet that concealed his face, save for two glowing red eyes. It was the same man who had sent that message to us the other day. It was Ares.

"Greetings, Titans. A pleasure to finally meet you in person. That beast proved quite a challenge, did it not?" Ares said.

"Are you the one responsible for that thing?!" Link demanded.

"No, not me. But it is still quite exhilarating to view such conflict. It gives me just what I need to crush all of you!" Ares claimed.

This guy was even more menacing than he had been on the TV screen. His armor was adorned with skulls in several places, probably the skulls of his victims. His mere presence seemed to fill my mind with thoughts of battle, anger, and… I almost hate to say it, but… bloodlust! To be honest, something about this guy seemed familiar, but I didn't know why.

"Hey! I like a good fight, but we're kinda in the middle of something here!" I told Ares as I gestured my hand towards the sewer that that thing had escaped into.

"You're skirmish with that beast will have to wait. Because now you shall face _me!" _Ares responded. "I look forward to seeing what you can do! Especially you, girl."

His last remark was directed towards me. I didn't know why this guy was so interested in me, but that really didn't matter right now. Robin started things off by throwing a bird-erang at Ares. Ares simply stood there; he didn't even try to dodge. Turns out, he didn't need too. The bird-erang suddenly stopped right before it hit Ares' face, and then swooped back in the opposite direction towards Robin. He managed to dodge it, then pulled out his bo staff and ran in to try and hit Ares. However, with just a thought, Ares took control of Robin's staff and whacked him with his own weapon! I guess what Raven had said about this guy was true! He really did have command over any weapon!

While Robin was getting beaten up by his own staff, Link was about to draw his sword and step in to help out. However, Starfire suggested against it, claiming that it'd be too risky for him. Link claimed that it would be okay because his sword, the Master Sword, could not be touched by evil. Raven came in and told him that Ares wasn't exactly 'touching' Robin's staff to use it. Master sword or not, they both told Link that until we knew more about this guy, that he should keep his weapons away. Fortunately though, Starfire and Raven didn't need weapons to fight, so Starfire flew in and fired a barrage of Starbolts at Ares. It looked like they'd hit their mark, but Ares simply teleported out of the way before they could hit. He reappeared in midair right behind her and punched her in the back. It didn't phase her for very long though, and she flew back in to pummel Ares. She held her own, but was eventually knocked down to the ground hard enough that it formed a small crater.

Raven used her shadow magic to take a nearby lamppost and swing it at Ares like a baseball bat. Ares simply grabbed onto the post and swung it back. Raven dodged it, but was then hit by a dark energy attack that Ares had fired out, and was knocked to the ground just like Starfire. Beast Boy changed into a pterodactyl and flew up above Ares, then changed into a rhino; trying to drop on top of him like a falling bomb. However, Ares grabbed BB while still below him, and then while still holding him, slammed him into the ground; more specifically, into Cyborg, who had been trying to get a good aim with his sonic cannon.

Seeing all of this, Link wasn't going to take it; sword or not, he was going to fight. He charged towards Ares, and hit him from behind with several melee attacks. But his strikes didn't seem to have much of an effect, and after Link's attempt at hand-to-hand combat, Ares grabbed Link's left arm. To the horror of everyone that could still see, Ares broke Link's arm like it was a twig! After Link screamed in pain and collapsed, Ares stepped back to watch him writhe in pain; and he was no doubt enjoying it. Starfire in particular gasped in horror, and with as much strength as she could, flew over to Link to try and help him up.

"Foolish boy. Did you really think that a sword-wielding whelp like you could best _me_ at hand-to-hand combat?" Ares asked Link rhetorically. "Be thankful that I did not rip your arm out of it's socket!"

Witnessing a casualty like this made me feel bad. I should've been helping, instead of just standing by and watching. Well, even though I was scared, wasn't going to run away! I've never run from a fight and I wasn't gonna start now!

"Hey! Helmet-head!" I shouted to get his attention. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"

My remark had gotten his attention, but honestly I kinda wish that it hadn't. Ares disappeared, and then reappeared right in front of me; standing over me menacingly. He was nearly four times my size, and casting a shadow over me that was so dark that if I didn't know any better, I'd say it was nighttime!

"Uhh… just to clarify, I'm _waaaaay_ smaller than you." I said, partially as a quip.

Whether of not anyone found what I said amusing, I really didn't care. Now it was time for action! I concentrated and formed two glowing red swords in my hands and prepped myself for whatever Ares was going to do. To my surprise, Ares held his right arm out to the side, and dark red markings appeared on his arms; markings that looked remarkably similar to mine! At that moment a giant glowing sword formed in his hand, a zweihander. Despite the fact that it was a two-handed sword, Ares held it in only one hand like it was nothing (which was actually a similar concept to the hammer that I formed earlier)! What Ares had just done… was exactly what I can do!

"Wha?! How… how did you….?!" I started to ask, sounding a little frightened.

"You are not the only one who can summon weapons, little girl." He told me. "But the question is, can _your_ weapons stand up to the power a _god?!_"

Ares was the first to make a move. Ordinarily this would've given me an advantage, but Ares was on an entirely different level than the all of the other thugs I have faced before, and when I tried to evade the attack Ares swiped his sword to the side; in the same direction I had stepped to evade! The attack hurt, a lot! Not enough to bring me down just like that though, so I charged towards Ares and tried slashing him. He was too fast though, and was able to block every one of my attacks with his giant sword. I decided on a different tactic, one that I used on the other opponent's I've faced; I turned invisible and snuck up behind Ares. It looked like it was working at first, but before I could strike, Ares vanished! I didn't know what to expect now; normally _I'm_ the one who tricks people like this!

While trying to predict where Ares would reappear, I was caught by surprise as I was hit in the back with something. I turned around and saw nothing there! Then I was hit in the back again! What was going on?! Then I heard Ares laugh from out of nowhere.

"Confused? You shouldn't be. This is a tactic _you've_ used many times." He taunted.

So what he meant was… he could turn invisible too?! My own tactic was being used against me; which was kind of ironic if you think about it. Ares must've been hitting me with the flat of his sword, otherwise his attacks would've hurt a _lot _more. Just then, from out of nowhere, Ares reappeared right in front of me and brought his sword down onto my head. It would've hit, but fortunately I was quick enough and intercepted his attack with my two swords. Our swords were now locked together in a contest of strength, with me trying to force back a god. I know what you're thinking: the odds were not in my favor; and to be honest, I'd agree with you there.

"You wield your abilities well, but you are far from being a match for me!" Ares claimed.

Ares was too strong; I was thrown back in a matter of seconds. When I got back up, Ares was standing over me with his arms crossed, as if he was disappointed with me. I tried to stand back up, to continue fighting, but the last attack had injured me too badly; I could barely move my legs. All I could do was glare back at Ares in spite.

"Did you really think that you'd be good enough to best me? Foolish girl. You don't even know who _you_ are!" Ares gloated.

"Oh, like _you_ do?!" I snapped at him.

"As a matter of fact… I _do_." He told me.

Wait… what?! Ares knew who I was?! How is that possible?! I mean sure, he's a god, but I wouldn't have taken him to be the all-seeing kind. I was about to ask him how he knew this, but he simply told me that he might tell me in our next battle; if there_ would_ be a next battle. He then teleported away to who-knows-where, leaving me lying on the ground, still injured. As I tried to get up, Raven, who had recovered from Ares' attack, came over to me and helped me up.

"We have to get back to the Tower. Several of us have been injured, badly." Raven informed me.

"Yeah. I got my butt handed to me just now. That Ares guy is the real-deal." I replied.

"We'll deal with him later, Scarlette. Right now, we need to get you, Link, and Robin to the infirmary." She told me.

That's right, Robin was beaten up with his own staff, and Link had his arm broken. My injuries were actually pretty tame compared to theirs; almost as if Ares was going easy on me. Buy why? I guess that didn't matter right now. What did matter now was for all of us to get back to the tower to recover. Still, I was wondering how Ares knew who I was; and I don't mean the 'me' as Scarlette, I mean the 'me' before I got amnesia.


	6. Chapter 6: Wonder Girl

**After going through some writer's block (again), I've managed to finish chapter six. This chapter introduces a character that will be around for the rest of this volume (kinda like Ravager was in volume three): Wonder Girl. Just to let everyone know, I am not very familiar with this character. I did a little 'research' before hand, but it is still likely that she may not be portrayed entirely 'accurate.' Though since this is all based on the Teen Titans cartoon, as well as being a fanfiction, I guess complete accuracy is less of an issue here.**

* * *

Chapter Six: Wonder Girl

We had all gathered in the infirmary to recover from our defeat at the hands of the god of war, Ares. Most of us simply had flesh wounds and bruises from the encounter, but three of us, more specifically, Link, Robin, and me, had suffered more serious casualties. Robin had been beaten up by his own bo staff and had received several fractures to his skull. Link's injury was even worse; he had his arm broken by Ares himself. Worse than that, it was his left arm that had broken, which was his sword arm, meaning that he wouldn't be able to use his sword for a while. As for my injuries, the only thing I had was a few tiny fractures in my legs and a few cuts here and there, but it was enough to warrant me a hospital bed. Raven had used her powers to reduce the severity of the wounds, but we'd still need a few days to recover.

Link was awake, with Starfire leaning next to him for support, with her hand on his cast. Robin however, was still unconscious. Ares must've knocked him out bad when he was controlling Robin's staff; he'd been out for nearly two hours now. I was in the bed across from him, looking at him with a look of remorse.

"He's gonna be okay, right? You don't think Ares…." I began to ask.

"Did him in? Not a chance. Robin's been pummeled way worse before." Cyborg told me.

That was reassuring, but still… I couldn't help but feel bad about all of this. If I had just gotten my head in the game before, the outcome would've been different. At the very least, the casualties would've been less severe. While I was thinking all of this, the other Titans decided to leave the room for now, to give us a chance to rest. Starfire wished us all well and hoped that we'd get better soon. Link smiled back at her before she left, but Robin was still out cold.

"Robin _is_ going to be okay, right?" I asked again.

"Robin? He'll be fine, don't worry." Link reassured me.

He could see from the look on my face that I felt really bad right now. He also seemed a bit surprised that I had called Robin by his name.

"Well, that _is_ his name." I replied, even thought that wasn't _technically_ true. "Why?"

"It's just that you usually call him 'Spikey,' or some other name." He mentioned.

"Oh. Yeah. I _do_ call him that a lot. For fun, y'know. But seeing him like this, well… I can't bring myself to make fun of him right now…" I told him.

Link already knew that I liked Robin; he and Starfire even tried to help by getting him to warm up to me, which worked… although not in the way they intended. Robin may be kind of a jerk, but… he was willing to give me a second chance; well, eventually anyway. Considering my past of thievery, not a lot of people would give me that chance. I was grateful to him for that.

"I just wonder if he'd see things the same way… if he was in my position." I pondered.

"It doesn't seem like you were hurt that badly." Link mentioned.

"Me? Oddly enough, no. It was like Ares was going easy on me or something." I responded. "What I meant was, if he was conscious and I wasn't… would he feel sympathy for me?"

"Of course he would. Robin acts really serious and secretive most of the time, but he still has a heart. You may be new here, and your background is… well, 'iffy', but we all see you as a friend, Robin included." Link told me.

Part of me believed him, but at the same time, part of me doubted his words; at least regarding Robin anyway. I mean, when he met me, he just saw me as a criminal; just another ne'er-do-well to punish. And even afterwards, he treated me more like a convict than a friend. I know that he's begun to warm up to me, but I couldn't help but think that if I did just one thing wrong, he would turn his back on me again.

"You know, I sometimes have the same fears regarding my 'relationship' with Starfire." Link informed me.

"What? You're joking right? The two of you seem closer than milk and cereal." I responded.

"Yeah. She and I are best friends… but I often feel that I'll do something to mess it all up." He told me.

"Like when you turned evil?" I inquired.

"Heh. The others told you about that, huh?" Link asked.

I nodded. Link told me all about it; about how he saw Starfire kiss Robin, how this villain named Slade (whom the Titans had a lot of trouble with, until Link ended him almost a year ago) got into his head and helped unleash Link's 'demonic' side, how he had captured and attempted to kill everyone who had been his friend, and how Starfire hadn't given up on him and brought him back to normal. It was all in the past, but Link feared that it might happen again, and that Starfire was only 'being with him' out of pity. If you ask me, that was a load of baloney! Starfire was definitely into this guy. She didn't seem like the kind of girl to fake her feelings; and as a girl myself, I think I'd know what I'm talking about.

"Well, I guess we should get some rest now." I insisted. "Oh, and uhh… sorry about your arm."

"Oh, this?" Link replied while looking down at his cast. "This is nothing. Raven used her powers to reduce the injury to a simple fracture. At the latest, it'll be fine by the end of the week."

Link smiled at me and assured me that we would all recover just fine. I'm glad that someone was looking on the bright side of all of this. I put my head down on my pillow and fell asleep. It wasn't really a peaceful sleep though, as the memory of my battle with Ares was replaying over and over in my subconscious.

* * *

About one week later, most of us had recovered from our injuries. I was in the bathroom at the moment, double-checking to make sure that nothing was wrong with me. My physical wounds had all healed, but the mental scars from the encounter had not faded yet. I stared at myself in the mirror, close enough that my reddish-brown eyes were only about an inch from it. Because of my amnesia, I still had no idea who I really was; but Ares claimed that he knew. But how?

"Who am I?" I asked myself.

At that moment, I heard Robin's voice over the tower's intercom. He told everyone to meet him in the ops room, to discuss what our next course of action was going to be. That was just like Spikey to want to plan ahead. If you ask me, he took this hero thing _way_ too seriously. But who am I to talk, I'm an ex-thief after all. I finished up what I was doing and exited the bathroom and made my way to the ops room. I was the last to arrive, but fortunately Robin hadn't said anything yet. He still had a few bandages on his arms and face, but other than that he looked good as new. I then turned to Link, whose broken arm seemed to have healed.

"Hey, Link? How's your arm doing?" I asked.

"It's still hurts a little, but otherwise it's fine and ready to go." He answered.

I was happy that everyone else had recovered from the encounter; I had recovered too, but the memory of the encounter was still bugging me. Regardless, Spikey said that we needed to figure out a strategy against Ares for the next time we had to face him. None of us believed this would be easy, after all, Ares was a god; he seemed unbeatable. I mean, for all we know, he may not even feel pain! Alright, I may have been overreacting there, but seriously, this whole 'Ares' thing was kinda freaking me out! If not for the unbeatable factor, then for the fact that he had the same kind of powers I could use! Eventually, even Robin admitted that Ares was a foe that the seven of us couldn't handle… and that's why he suggested that we call in someone to help. Someone who may know more about the legends behind Ares: Wonder Girl.

"Who's Wonder Girl?" Link and I both asked.

Starfire explained to us that Wonder Girl was a friend of theirs and also an honorary Titan. She is one of the Amazons that hail from the Island of Themiscyra. I was not familiar with the 'Amazons,' but as it would turn out, the others were not too familiar with them either. All they knew was that the Amazons were a race of all-female warriors that possessed unparalleled strength. That actually sounded pretty cool. It's good to know that there were girls out there that were tougher than guys; but then again, that's pretty much a fact of life anyway!

Everyone discussed it for a few minutes, and ultimately agreed that having her here could help in case Ares attacked again, so Robin decided that he'd give Wonder Girl a call. Hopefully she would agree to help us; and maybe there would even be a slight chance that she'd have an idea as to how Ares knew me. Cause to be honest, I _really_ didn't want to have to go to Ares himself for the answer.

After he made the call, Robin told us all that Wonder Girl would be happy to assist us and that she would be here tomorrow, at the latest. Starfire in particular seemed to very happy from the news. I'm guessing that she and Wonder Girl were really good friends. I was looking forward to meeting her too. In the meantime I decided to finish up what I had been doing before and then head to the training room for a little combat practice.

* * *

The next morning, most of us were woken up by a knock on the tower door. I almost forgot exactly why someone was knocking at the door, but on the way there I was quickly reminded by Starfire that Wonder Girl had come to visit. I face-palmed in embarrassment; sometimes I feared that my scatter-brained ignorance would be the death of me one day. Once we were all at the front door, Robin checked the tower's security camera and confirmed that Wonder Girl was outside. The tower doors opened to reveal a girl in a red unitard and steel wrist bands standing outside. She was roughly Starfire's height, and she had black hair tied into a ponytail, and was also carrying a golden lasso that was hooked to her belt. She actually kind of resembled me, except less 'street punk' look and more 'warrior princess' look, or something.

"Wonder Girl! It is most joyous to see you!" Starfire said as she flew up to her.

"It is nice to see all of you again as well." Wonder Girl said with a slight European accent. "It is not very often that I get to see you all."

"Well, as I mentioned over the communicator, this isn't just a visit. We kinda need your help." Robin informed her.

"C'mon, Spikey! She _just_ got here. Give her some time to settle and _then_ we can focus on the important stuff." I told Robin.

Robin was a little ticked from me butting in at first, but he didn't stay ticked for long. However, I noticed that Wonder Girl was giving me a funny look. Which was understandable; she had never met me before, or Link for that matter.

"Umm… not to be rude, but… who are those two?" She asked the others while pointed towards me and Link.

Starfire went ahead and introduced Link, saying that he was an old friend that had been gone for some time but now was finally back. Wonder Girl shook hands with him, but shivered a little immediately afterwards. She was no doubt getting that creepy vibe from Link that he keeps talking about. However, she insisted that it was no big deal, and that a lot of people she knew gave off that kind of vibe. Afterwards, I introduced myself and went to shake her hand, but right before we could, my powers activated out of nowhere and formed a small sword in my hand. It spooked Wonder Girl and the others, and it kinda spooked me too. It wasn't anything new though; on rare occasions I end up forming a weapon at random, and often at the worst possible times.

"Oh c'mon! I thought I had gotten the hang of this by now!" I snarled at myself. "Uhh… sorry. That hasn't happened for a while."

I discarded the sword and tried to shake Wonder Girl's hand again, but she was keeping her distance. Everyone assured her that it was not intentional , but I honestly couldn't blame her for being wary. Still, I finished introducing myself. I told her everything I knew about myself; that everyone called me 'Scarlette,' that I had the ability to form weapon constructs from nothing and the ability to turn invisible, and that I was an ex-thief with amnesia. After my introduction, she went over to Robin and whispered something to him. I wasn't able hear it very well, but I'm almost certain that she was questioning whether I could be trusted or not.

"Scarlette can be… a pain sometimes… _a lot_ actually. But she's a good person; I know that for a fact." Robin told her.

Wonder Girl still looked a little skeptical, but whatever. At least we now had someone who could possibly fill us in about what we didn't know about Ares. In the meantime, I decided to go into the training room for more practice. Hopefully, I could get it so that my powers wouldn't activate at random again. Seriously, it had been like, six weeks or so since it had happened, and I had thought that it wouldn't happen again. I'm just glad that I didn't hurt anyone this time.

* * *

After about an hour of practice, Starfire and Wonder Girl came into the room. I had been practicing with my whip at the time and had taken down at least eighty practice targets. Both of them could tell I had been working hard on the account that I was sweating like crazy.

"Greetings Scarlette!" Starfire said to me.

"Hey Star. What's up?" I responded.

She responded by stating that the ceiling was 'up.' I laughed from that, although I couldn't tell if it was a joke or simply her naiveté. Wonder Girl had only smiled slightly, and was still looking at me with a hint of distrust. She asked me about the weapon I had right now; my whip.

"Oh, this? It's a whip. I use it for, uhh… whipping stuff." I informed her.

"It's cute, but one could hardly call it effective." She told me.

Was that supposed to be an insult? She was dissing my whip?! Alright, I didn't know what this chick's deal was, but she had better chill out soon or else I was gonna whip _her! _

"Excuse me?!" I snapped. "Who do you think you are?! Calling another girl's weapon ineffective!"

"You are hardly in a position to be telling me off! I happen to be an Amazon!" Wonder Girl scolded.

"Amazon, Shmamazon! It doesn't make you better than everyone else!" I shouted.

At this point, Starfire flew in-between us and insisted that we stop fighting. Wonder Girl and I turned our backs to each other and crossed our arms. I bet anything that Starfire had brought her in here so we could get to know each other better, but I hadn't expected Wonder Girl to be such a prick! She was worse than Robin, and I actually_ liked_ that guy!

"I just don't think that it is a good idea to trust someone who cannot even remember their own identity, let alone put her on your team." Wonder Girl told Starfire.

I had overheard this, and told Wonder Girl off by saying that not all of us have had a carefree life on a magical island with no worries. However, as it would turn out, that was not entirely true. Wonder Girl admitted that her life on Themyscira was far from being sunshine and rainbows. This caught my attention immediately, and I dropped the tough girl act for a moment.

The truth is, Wonder Girl wasn't born on Themyscira. Originally, she had been an orphan who was brought to Themyscira by the Amazon's ambassador in the outside world; Wonder Woman. Once there, Wonder Girl was trained in the arts of battle by the Amazons, and eventually became one of them through some kind of ritual or something. But her training had been brutal, and she wasn't given any special treatment, as an Amazon or an orphan. That was actually comparable to what I had gone through in the past, except that I had been found by a street gang rather than an Amazon, and I had been used to commit crimes, whereas Wonder Girl was trained for battle against criminals.

"I guess we have more in common than I thought." I told her.

"I guess. I apologize for my rude behavior before." Wonder Girl said. "Friends?"

Wonder Girl extended her hand in friendship, like I had done when she had arrived. Before I shook it, I made certain that one of my weapons wouldn't randomly form this time. After double-checking, I shook her hand and smiled.

"Yeah… _friends_. And I'm sorry for what I said too." I said.

Despite the fact that she had apologized, Wonder Girl still said that I could use some improvement in my weapon handling. Well, yeah… that's why I came in here to practice. To my surprise, she offered to teach me what she knew about fighting. That would be great! Maybe if I knew some Amazonian battle tactics, I would fare better against Ares next time. I quickly agreed, and she began teaching the basics. The training was a little rough, but nothing I couldn't handle. I wanted to make sure that Ares would pay for what he did to me and my friends; so some intense training would definitely be worth it, even if I'd be really sore in the morning.

* * *

Elsewhere, in a meeting that none of us witnessed, Ares had teleported to an undisclosed location to meet with Majora, no doubt to discuss the next stage of their plan; whatever it was. Majora had the an hourglass placed upon the ground in front of him; the same hourglass that Red X had stolen for them, and the black sand inside of it was swirling as if it was alive.

_"Bellum has begun to awaken. I can feel the force from his insatiable hunger."_ Majora said. _"But to restore his power completely, we still need one more key ingredient."_

_"_Yes. The souls of Athena's rag-dolls! And once this beast is restored, the Gods of Olympus shall fall." Ares claimed. "Assuming that our deal is still on?"

_"Indeed. For not even gods are safe from Bellum's hunger."_ Majora declared sinisterly. _"But what of your daughter?" _

"She poses no threat. Despite her… rebellious nature, one way or another, she _will_ fulfill her part." Ares responded.

Majora smiled wickedly, declaring that was good news. Ghirahim warped in at that moment to inform Majora and Ares that Wonder Girl had come to assist the Titans. The sound of that name caught Ares' attention.

"So the Titans have called an Amazon for aid. This could cause… complications to the plan." Ares claimed.

_"I assure you, war god, this little girl's presence will not alter our plan in any way. Ghirahim is more than enough to handle her."_ Majora said.

Majora turned to Ghirahim, who nodded in agreement to his statement, and then snapped his fingers before teleporting elsewhere, most likely back to Jump City.

"Very well. And while your accomplice deals with the Titans, I shall have a word with my daughter. I believe the time has come for her to learn the truth about herself." Ares declared.

Ares then teleported away himself, likely to Jump City to prepare himself for his next encounter with Titans. Would the Titans be able to repel Ghirahim when he attacks? And what of Ares? What were his intentions with this daughter of his? And who exactly was his daughter? The answer to that last question… was actually a lot closer than I would've thought.


	7. Chapter 7: The Daughter of Ares

Chapter Seven: The Daughter of Ares

Throughout the entire day, I had spent my time in the training room with Starfire and Wonder Girl. Wonder Girl was a pretty rough teacher, hardly giving me any breaks and whipping me with her lasso if I messed up a move. It was brutal, but she taught me some Amazonian fighting tactics, including a special parrying move. During the whole training session, Link happened to walk in at one point. He had come for some practice too, but Starfire explained to him that this was a special training session for me only. He was a bit disappointed, but ultimately understood and left to do something else.

"That Link guy and you seem to get along really well. Is your boyfriend alright with this?" Wonder Girl asked her.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Starfire inquired.

"Robin. Is he alright with you hanging out with another boy?" She asked again.

"Oh, Robin? He and I broke up some time ago." Starfire informed.

Wonder Girl was kinda surprised to hear this. From what she recalled, Starfire had been really into the guy before. She questioned her about the whole thing and asked if something happened between them. Star explained the whole 'Dark Link' incident to her; how Link had turned evil due to a broken heart, and how she had realized at that time how much Link actually meant to her, which turns out was a lot more than how she had felt about Spikey. Wonder Girl was a bit perplexed that she would choose Link over Robin, considering the fact that Link gives off that 'unwelcome' feeling.

"True. Link _does_ give off a feeling of distrust to others around him. But for some reason, I do not feel that feeling when I'm with him, at all." Starfire mentioned.

"Wait. You don't get that creepy feeling around him?" I asked her. "Why would _you_ feel fine around him when everyone else gets that bad feeling in their gut?"

Starfire reiterated that she didn't know why. But seeing as she didn't get that feeling, it seemed like she was the best person to be so close to him.

"Well… Robin must be pretty depressed that you dumped him." Wonder Girl assumed.

"_'Despressed'_ isn't really the word I would use to describe Robin's reaction. More like… _'vengeful.' _Ever since I broke up with him, Robin has always been finding ways to do the 'lashing out' at Link." Starfire responded. "From things like slipping up during fights, to simpler things such as giving me a valentine card. I found his behavior towards him most displeasing. Truthfully, I am now _glad _that I broke up with him."

"So… does that mean that you and Link are, y'know… a _thing?_" Wonder Girl asked her.

"Me and Link? Oh, no. Not _yet_ at least. Considering how the ordeal played out, I feel it is only right to give Link some time to 'fully heal' from the event." Starfire answered.

I claimed that what she really meant was that she was waiting for Link to make the first move. She denied it, but both Wonder Girl and I could tell that was the case. Afterwards though, she mentioned to Wonder Girl that I had a thing for Robin. I felt a little embarrassed that she was telling this to someone I had just met. Starfire should really keep these kinda things a bit quieter!

"What?! Me and Spikey? Pfft! As if! The only thing I like about him is that he's fun to tease!" I claimed, although that was far from the truth.

As it would just so happen, Robin had just entered the room and was standing at the door. Uh-oh. Did he hear our conversation just now?!

"What are you all up to?" He asked us.

"Just some special training amongst us girls. In other words, it's not really any of your business." I told him.

He raised an eyebrow under his mask, but didn't respond to my statement. Instead, he told Wonder Girl to meet him and the rest of the Titans in the ops room in an hour. He wanted her to tell them anything she knew about Ares, and whether or not there was a way to defeat him. After she agreed, he turned around and started to walk away. But before he left, one of us playfully whipped him in the butt with a whip (and by 'one of us', I mean me). He turned around to see me holding my whip construct in my hand and looking falsely oblivious. I quickly discarded my whip and pointed to Wonder Girl.

"She did it!" I claimed, with that obviously being a lie.

Robin had an angry look on his face. He obviously knew that I was the one who whipped him, and at the same time, he likely knew that I just did it for fun. He simply reminded us to meet everyone in the ops room in an hour and then left in a huff. I giggled slightly, and so did Wonder Girl and Starfire. Star was no doubt a good friend, and by now I could safely say that Wonder Girl would be too.

* * *

An hour later, we all gathered in the ops room to discuss our next course of action. Robin had his hand behind his back, probably still rubbing his sore behind from when I whipped it. He noticed I was snickering a little bit, but I actually wanted him to notice. Regardless, Robin went over everything that had happened the other day; how Ares had attacked and whooped our butts, being the exact reason why he called Wonder Girl here. The question we wanted to know however, was what did Ares want here in Jump City, and was there a way to defeat him?

"If Ares is here on the mortal plane, than it is most likely to bring about some form of warfare among the people here. And that strife would not end here; if he manages to start conflict here, then it would undoubtedly spread to the rest of the world." Wonder Girl explained.

"But why does the Ares wish to start such horrible battles?" Starfire inquired.

"Ares is the god of war, and as such draws his power from such conflict. If the world were to be bathed in the flames of eternal war, it would make Ares unstoppable. And when that happens, he would be able to overthrow the Gods of Olympus, and become the new king of the gods." Wonder Girl continued. "This is one of the reasons that the goddesses of old created the Amazons; to keep Ares from achieving his goal."

"Then we have to stop him! No matter what it takes!" Robin declared.

This all seemed to make some sense, but something still didn't add up. Ares said that he knew who I was; how was that so? And what could I possibly have to do with _any_ of this? Not only that, but the Titans foes, Ghirahim and Majora, had allied themselves with Ares. But what could they have to gain from Ares becoming king of the gods?

My thoughts were cut short however, as the tower's alarm system went off, setting of a red light and loud siren throughout the entire building. Robin checked the tower computer and determined that someone had broken into a local store. This time however, the computer had linked itself to the security cameras and we saw exactly who was causing trouble. It was a very pale-looking man with white hair that covered the left side of his face, one pointed ear, and a red cape around his neck; and he was throwing out daggers of some kind everywhere and scaring people away. The Titans knew all too well who this was.

"Ghirahim." Link declared with an angry tone. "What's he doing here?!"

"Whatever it is, it's bound to be no good." Robin replied. "Titans, go!"

After his all-too-common battle cry, we left the tower to try and apprehend Ghirahim. I had never fought this guy, but he couldn't be any worse than Ares… could he?

When we arrived on the scene, most of us were surprised by the area that Ghirahim had decided to attack. It was… a clothing store? Not only that, but a _women's_ clothing store nonetheless! This must've been some seriously messed up guy. I mean, of all the places to break into, why would he choose a clothing store?!

"Am I the only one who's confused here?" I asked out loud.

"Maybe the men's store didn't have anything in his size?" Beast Boy joked.

"Well, that's Ghirahim for you; messed up in every sense of the word." Link proclaimed, with Starfire nodding in agreement.

I guess it really didn't matter where he attacked, just so long as we stop him. At the same time though, I had this bad feeling in my gut; like this attack of his had some other kind of meaning. Once inside, we saw that the entire building was a wreck; there were coat-racks and shelves knocked over everywhere. The cash registers were also blown apart, although oddly enough, none of the money had been touched. It was only a matter of time before we confronted the guy who did this; Ghirahim. Well… I think he was a guy; after seeing his flamboyant outfit and weird behavior in person, it was kinda hard to tell.

When we found him, Ghirahim was busy using a rapier to carve something into the wall. When he saw us, he stopped abruptly and turned to face us.

"Ah! If it isn't my favorite little children!" Ghirahim said with a slightly british accent. "I was wondering when you would show up. I was beginning to get a little bored."

Judging by his tone, I could tell that he wasn't taking this seriously at all. It's not like that mattered though, we were still going to kick his butt!

"So now you're into vandalism? You've reached a new low, Ghirahim." Robin declared.

"Dude, I think this guy's already reached the definition of 'lowest of the low.'" Beast Boy remarked.

Ghirahim responded by thanking Beast Boy. Seriously? Wow, this guy really _was_ messed up. Link stepped up and demanded that Ghirahim tell us what he was doing here. Ghirahim's response was (by now all too obvious)… creepy.

"Well… I happened to think that all of the styles in this store were atrocious. So I did everyone a justice and wrecked the place!" He claimed.

By now I couldn't tell if he was being serious or if he was just messing with us. I didn't like these mind games, so I quickly formed a sword and charged at him, hoping to shut him up! As I was charging towards him, Robin called out for me to stop. Why? By the time I heard him though, I was already about to strike. All of the sudden however, Ghirahim vanished into thin air! Oh great,_ this guy_ could teleport too! He reappeared directly behind me, thrust the back of his hand into my head, and knocked me down. Did he just… slap me?! Oh, no he _didn't!_

"Sorry, but I didn't come here to fight some wanna-be hero. I'm here to deal with the Titans." Ghirahim told me.

What did he just call me?! I didn't like it when people assumed that I couldn't amount to being a hero, especially when that assumption came from a villain! I quickly got back up and attempted another attack, claiming that I _was_ a Titan, but Ghirahim fired out several dagger-like projectiles at me. I was able to dodge, but right afterwards something really weird happened. The entire area I was fighting in just faded away! It was completely dark for an instant, but then I was suddenly in a new area. I was now standing on the outskirts of the city, near the entrance to a forest. How the heck did I get here? My question was answered as I turned around and saw the imposing figure of Ares directly behind me. He must've brought me here.

* * *

"We meet again, little girl." He greeted. "I believe you call yourself 'Scarlette', correct?"

I didn't respond to his question. Instead, I formed a giant hammer in my hands and swung it directly at Ares. He countered it though, by forming an equally giant ax in his hands. This time instead of being knocked back however, the force of the blow caused both of us to skid backwards. Perhaps this was proof that my training was starting to pay off.

I was prepared to strike again, but before I could, Ares raised up his hand and told me to stop. I questioned why, though I still held my hammer in both hands.

"My apologies if you were expecting a fight, but that is not why I brought you here." Ares told me.

"Yeah? I find that hard to believe." I responded.

Soon afterwards, Ares disposed of his ax and raised up both hands. He asked if I believed him now. Honestly, I didn't know if I could believe anything this guy said, but for right now I decided to play along and disposed of my weapon as well. The god of war not wanting to pick a fight seemed rather odd, but apparently there was a reason behind this.

"I don't get it. Last time we met, you tried to kill me, and now you just wanna talk?" I asked him.

Ares laughed slightly, as if he found my question humorous.

"You thought I was trying to kill you? No child, I was merely testing you. Did you not notice that when I left you in that battle, that you were barely injured?" He inquired.

I _had_ noticed that. He had beaten Robin senseless and broken Link's arm, but all he did to me was rough me up a little. He had been _testing_ me? For _what_?

"Why would someone like you have any interest in me? You're a god, and I'm a… a nobody." I said.

"You and I have more in common than you may think." Ares told me. "Besides, I may be the god of war, but even I wouldn't kill… my own _daughter_."

Wait… WHAT?! I was…. Ares' daughter?! That… that couldn't be! I wasn't some kind of goddess, I was human!

"What are you talking about! Me?! Your daughter?! That's not possible! I don't…!" I began to say.

"Remember that? Of course not. You got amnesia five years ago. And even then I had not revealed my true identity to you until you were ten years old." Ares interrupted.

But if I was his daughter… did that make me just as bad as him? I guess it explained my powers, but it just didn't add up. Why did he wait until now to tell me this?!

"I expected you to react in this way. But if you will calm down for a moment, I shall reveal to you the truth about your past." He told me.

I was seriously freaked out by this; even more than when I had been freaked out about simply facing Ares again. But if I could learn about my past, about who I really was, then I was willing to look past the fact that I was freaked out. So slowly, I calmed myself down and listened to what Ares, my… _father_, had to say.

"Your real name is Nicole Sera, sired by myself and your mother, Madeline Sera." Ares began explaining. "You see, after my last defeat at the hands of the Amazons, I was killed and sent to the underworld. However, as you may or may not be aware of, death is but a mere inconvenience to a god like me. It was only a matter of time before I re-entered the mortal world, where I took the guise of a man named Thomas Sera until I could recover all of my power. Everywhere I went, some form of conflict would arise, which would slowly restore me to my former glory. However, there was one time when no conflict whatsoever arose in my presence; that was the time when I met your mother, Madeline. Though mortal, she was unlike any other being I had ever encountered; human or god. Though my goal was to restore my power, I was affected by this woman in such a way that, as absurd as it may sound, I began to disregard my status as a god."

Disregard? Was he saying that my mom had made him not care about being the god of war? Even if that was so, it was obvious that he began to care again after a while; otherwise, he wouldn't be standing here in his 'godly' form.

"Eventually, while still under the guise of Tom Sera, Madeline and I married and sired a daughter; _you_. As time went on, it became apparent that you had inherited some of my power, and as I observed you I began to once again think towards my goal of restoring my former glory as the god of war. I began to fear that after all this time, I was becoming… mortal. As much as I loved Madeline, I was not going to discard my godly status because of petty mortal emotion, but at the same time I saw an opportunity. Your status and powers inspired me to try and mold you into my image. And the fact that you were female would give me the perfect opportunity to use you to annihilate the Amazons from upon their own little paradise island, Themyscira. However, when your mother discovered all of this, she tried to keep me away from you. She obtained a mystic artifact known as Athena's charm and placed it around your neck, preventing me from ever touching you. Though you escaped my grasp, a little… _accident _gave you amnesia, erasing the memory of your first ten years of life. Though you retained your powers, I still could not touch you as long as you had Athena's charm, so I decided to wait some time before confronting you again." He concluded.

Whoa. This was a lot for me to take in. My name was Nicole? My necklace was a mystic charm of some sort? And Ares was trying to use me? Just like so many people had tried to use me in the past? Not only that, but Ares had actually felt… _love_ before?! That I found hard to believe. The fact that he was trying to use me made me a little angry, enough that I randomly formed a pair of nun-chucks in my hand. I quickly discarded them, feeling a little embarrassed.

"I see you still have a little trouble controlling your powers. Still, you have managed to cause quite a bit of conflict on your own. I had never expected that. I am… _impressed_."

"Okay… this is all kinda… confusing. But I only have one question. What happened to my mother?" I asked him, with an angry look in my eyes.

"She is not dead if that is what you are thinking. But my last encounter with her left her gravely injured. I believe that she may still be recovering in one of the hospitals of Bludhaven." He answered.

"Thanks for the info. Maybe I can dig up more of this story from her." I said out loud.

"Well… if you do see her, sent her my regards." Ares told me.

Ares then teleported away to who-knows-where. He likely did not want to see my mom in person, probably because he did not want to feel the same emotions that caused him to almost become mortal. From this whole encounter, I was beginning to think that Ares may not be as bad of a guy as I thought, but I wasn't going to actually believe that until I heard my mother's side of the story.

* * *

I pulled out my communicator and gave Robin a call. When he picked up, he actually sounded really worried.

"Scarlette?! Is that you? Where have you been?! One moment you're fighting Ghirahim, despite my order not to, then the next moment you disappear! Are you okay?" Robin asked.

"Aww. I didn't know you cared." I said sarcastically.

He gave me a sour look for a moment, and then told me that they were all back at the tower. I asked whether or not they apprehended Ghirahim, and it would turn out that he had gotten away. From the background, I could hear Link proclaim that the next time they fought Ghirahim that he'd wreck him like he did that clothing store. I heard Starfire too, urging Link to calm down, with Link saying that he was fine; just scratched a little.

"Yeah, take it easy, cat ears." Beast Boy added.

That was the first time I ever heard him call Link _that_. Usually, I was the one calling people names; well, calling Robin 'Spikey' anyway. Speaking of which, Spikey told me to meet him in front of the clothing store where we fought Ghirahim and that he'd come to pick me up on his R-Cycle. That sounded cool, but before he hung up I asked him if he could do me a favor and look up any info they could on a woman named 'Madeline Sera.' He said it was no problem, but he questioned why. I simply told him to just do it, and that I'd tell them all why when I got back. Robin then hung up, and I began to make my way back to the clothing store, which fortunately was not all too hard to find because of the wreckage. Well, that and the fact that it was pinpointed on my communicator.

After everything I had just learned, I really did not feel like telling anyone that Ares was my dad yet; especially not to Robin. If he found out that I was the daughter of an evil god, who knows how he would react, especially considering my past as a thief. For right now though, I was focused more on finding out where my mother was. I just hoped that she would actually _want_ to see me.


	8. Chapter 8: Like Mother, Like Daughter

Chapter Eight: Like Mother, Like Daughter

After taking a ride with Robin on his R-Cycle, Spikey and I both entered Titans Tower. We had just gotten back from our battle against Ghirahim. Well… the others did anyway; I was a little late due to my unexpected encounter with Ares, who had shockingly revealed himself to be my father! I was going to keep this info a secret for right now though. I had just made six awesome new friends, and possibly more than a friend from Robin, and I didn't want to risk ruining all of it by revealing the fact that I was the daughter of a war god. However, before Robin came to pick me up, I requested that they find info on a woman named Madeline Sera. The others didn't know why right now, but the truth was that this woman was my mother.

Robin and I both entered the ops room to find the other Titans there as well. Link was sitting on the couch with Starfire next to him, concerned about his wounds from the fight with Ghirahim that I, regrettably, wasn't there for. Beast Boy was chowing down on a tofu burger (he didn't eat meat), while Raven was meditating a few feet from the couch. Lastly, Cyborg was on the Tower's computer looking up the information I had requested, and Wonder Girl was standing a few feet away observing everything.

"Cyborg, have you found anything?" Robin asked him.

"Yeah. I located a file from a hospital in Bludhaven. It says a woman named Madeline Sera is one of their patients, and she's been there for five years." Cyborg answered.

"Bludhaven? That place is a cest-pool of scum and villainy." Robin said.

"Uhh… I happen to have been _born_ in Bludhaven. I think…" I mentioned to him.

"Well, that explains a lot." He said smugly.

I'm pretty sure he was joking, at least about the part concerning me. Bludhaven itself, on the other hand, was indeed a heavily crime-ridden place, and I should know; after all, I was once in a Bludhaven street gang, until I got sick of it and left. Cyborg and Robin were curious as to why I would want to know about this woman, and how I know about her in the first place. I didn't want them to know about Ares being my father, but I didn't see any harm with them knowing about my mother; so I told them. The others overheard me, and were just as shocked as Cy and Spikey.

"Wait a minute. You said that you have amnesia, right? How do you remember who your mother is?" Robin asked me.

"I _do_ have amnesia. I know about her because… Ares told me." I admitted.

Now they were puzzled as to how Ares knew about this. I simply told them that I found out that Ares had an encounter with my mom in the past, and left it at that. As for the matter at hand, I asked the others if it was possible for us to go to Bludhaven so I could meet my mother. They didn't see why not; in fact, Link in particular thought it would be great for me to reunite with my mother, something that he could never do. Starfire informed me that Link's parents had died before he even knew them. His mother had protected him against Slade, the same bad guy that Robin had told me about a few days ago, and journeyed, while injured, to a place called Lanayru Village. His mother passed away, but he was taken in by a local swordsman. Whoa. Link never knew his parents? And they were dead? That was a sad story. I almost felt like hugging him, but that probably would've been too much; that and the fact that the creepy vibe coming off of him was keeping me at a distance. Bludhaven was on the other side of the country, so Cyborg went to get the 'T-Ship' ready. I didn't know what he was talking about at first, but the others filled me in. The T-Ship was the Teen Titans' aerial transport, which they used for long journeys over land, underwater, and even through space. Honestly, that sounded pretty cool, and I was eager to see it!

* * *

The T-Ship was an impressive looking aircraft. It was shaped kind of like a giant orange manta ray with two turbines on it's sides. It easily looked like it could travel at light speed if necessary, possibly even faster than that! There was one downside though; There were only five cockpits, and there were eight of us. Three of us would have to squeeze in with another. Starfire volunteered to have Link sit with her (Heh, I bet he liked _that_), and I requested to squeeze in with Spikey. He was reluctant to agree, although I could definitely tell that he was blushing. Since it took some time for him to say anything, Cyborg decided to pick us up and shove us into the cockpit himself. It was kinda rude, but whatever. Raven agreed to let Wonder Girl squeeze in with her, and at the same time they'd be talking about what she and Starfire had been doing the other day when they were training with me. The journey itself took about an hour, and by the time we had arrived in Bludhaven I was all stiff from being crammed in the T-Ship with Spikey.

We had parked the ship in the parking lot of a local Bludhaven hospital. It looked old and run-down; I was kinda surprised that it was still standing. The moment I exited the ship, I felt the air of the city on me; it was not a pleasant feeling though. It only made me remember all of the bad stuff that happened to me when I lived here, mostly when I was a part of that street gang.

"Hey Scarles, are you okay?" Robin asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It just feels kinda… weird to be back here." I answered.

He could probably tell that I was nervous to go in and meet my mother. I mean, I didn't even remember her because of my amnesia. How would she react to that? And because of the fact that I'd been a thief for the past five years (up until a few weeks ago that is), I wondered if she even wanted to see me at all. Fortunately, I had the support of my friends, so I really shouldn't have worried so much. The seven of us entered the building and approached the front counter, which was being managed by who I assumed was one of the doctors. I asked him if a woman named Madeline Sera was in the building; adding on that 'Nicole Sera' was here to see her. The doctor looked through his files and confirmed that Madeline Sera was one of the patients staying here. As he went off to inform her of our presence, the others were confused by my mention of the name 'Nicole Sera.'

"Who's Nicole?" Beast Boy asked.

BB was oblivious, but in only a few seconds the others had figured it out.

"Scarlette's real name is Nicole Sera." Robin announced. "I assume Ares told you this too?"

"Uhh… yeah." I told him a bit awkwardly.

A few minutes later, the doctor came back and told us that he had informed Madeline that we were here, and that she had requested to see me. That was… good, but I was bringing my friends along with me. I needed the support, and besides, if this woman really was my mother, I would like her to meet my new friends. She was staying in the fifth room of the hospital's third floor, and when I entered I saw a woman near a small table sitting in a wheelchair. Her hair was dirty blonde, she had brown eyes, and she was wearing a white patient's dress; and the way her face looked, it was almost as if angel's themselves had carved it… not literally though, y'know. She turned her head towards me and my friends, and smiled.

"Nicole? Is that really you?" She asked me in an almost melodious tone.

I nervously stepped towards her. Can you believe this?! I was scared to be around my own mother! Really just goes to show how messed up my life had become. I was only a few feet from her when she wheeled herself closer to me.

"You've grown so much since I last saw you. I'm so happy to see you're safe, my little angel." She told me.

Wow. No one had ever called me that before. At least… I don't think so. But I think it was now clear that this woman was indeed my mother; and my emotions began to get the better of me. I tried to hold back the tears while in front of my friends, but it was no use. I crouched down to my mom's level and hugged her. The others may have seen this, me being so… _soft_, but I didn't care right now. Honestly though, I don't think it mattered to them; in fact, they were probably happy for me. Madeline told me that she had missed me. I wanted to tell her that I missed her too, but I couldn't because I had no memory of her before now.

"You seem troubled, Nicole. Is something wrong?" Madeline asked me.

"It's just… I… I don't remember you… at all. I got amnesia five years ago and can't remember anything from before then. I _want_ to remember you, but… I just can't." I told her, with my eyes still all teary.

"Five years ago? That is when your father attacked us. Something must've happened then to cause you to lose your memory." She told me. "I know you'll recover it someday, but for now I'm just glad that you're here."

My mom was such a nice woman; I could see why my dad could've fallen for her, despite the fact that he was a war god. I quickly realized that I was getting ahead of myself, and introduced my mom to my friends.

"This is Link, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Wonder Girl, Cyborg, and Robin… but I call him Spikey." I said as I gestured to each of them.

Robin gave his all too common sour look when I called him 'Spikey', and both me and my mom giggled slightly. She mentioned that she would tease my father sometimes too, back when they were dating. I don't think she was suggesting it, but I hastily told her that Spikey and I were _not_ dating. Though secretly, I hoped that we might someday. Spikey then stepped forward to ask a few questions of his own.

"You said that your husband attacked you. Why?" He asked her.

Uh-oh. This was bad. I almost forgot that this meeting could likely be when the others would find out the truth about me; that Ares was my father. I took a few steps back towards the wall, putting my hands behind my back. My mother proceeded to tell them the story behind it.

"Nearly twenty years ago, I moved to this city, Bludhaven. I had gone broke, so I went to work in one of the local cafes. I can say right now that it wasn't an entirely pleasant experience, but one good thing came out of it; I met Thomas Sera, the man who would become my husband. He had this… _quality_ that caused fighting to arouse in some form wherever he went. At least until he met me. For some reason, while around me, everything would become calm. As he and I got to know each other more, less strife began to arouse from his presence, as if a dark aura around him had been dissipating. It was only a matter of time before he and I married, and as you likely know by now, we had a daughter; Nicole." She explained.

"That doesn't explain why this man attacked his own family." Raven interrupted.

"Yes, I was afraid that may have been your next question." Madeline responded. "You see, not long after Nicole was born, I found out the truth about Thomas; that he was not human; he was a god. His true identity was a former Olympian god and the god of war, Ares."

From the sound of that name, the others were shocked, and they immediately looked towards me. By now I was in the corner, looking away from the others as they gazed towards me with confounded looks on their faces. Robin happened to have the most confounded look out of all of them.

"Scarlette? You're Ares'… _daughter?!_" He asked me.

All I could do now was nod my head in agreement. Wonder Girl asked why I hadn't told them before.

"BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW!" I shouted.

Everyone of my friends inched back a bit in response to my outburst. I noticed their reactions, and stepped out from the corner.

"I'm sorry. I only found out today, when Ares snatched me away from our last mission. I didn't want you guys to know because… I thought you wouldn't like me anymore." I claimed.

"What?! That's crazy!" Cyborg declared.

"Yeah. You really thought we'd hate you just cause your dad is a murderous war god that brings destruction everywhere he steps?" Beast Boy asked.

"Well, uh… yeah. Yeah, I did." I admitted.

Turns out, none of them judged me for it; not even Robin. One of their teammates actually had a similar background. The truth is, Raven's dad was just as bad, if not worse, as mine. Her father Trigon was an inter-dimensional demon whose sole desire was to conquer our dimension, using his own daughter as his way to do so. It happened once before, but it ultimately ended with Raven kicking his butt back to his own dimension and saving the world, and the universe to boot! Raven's dad also apparently didn't care about her at all, even trying to destroy her after he got what he wanted. I have to say, I'm glad Raven managed to beat the snot out of this guy and send him packing. At least my dad cared about me at least a little…. I think.

"Thomas, or rather, _Ares_, had begun to fear that his time around me was beginning to adversely affect his godly status; he feared he was becoming mortal. So he decided to sever the bond that we had." Madeline stated.

"He tried to _kill_ you?!" I asked, very concerned.

"Unfortunately, yes. But when he was about to deliver the final strike, he just couldn't do it. So instead, he only injured me enough to disable the lower half of my body. As you could probably tell by the wheelchair, I've lost the use of my legs. I had thought that Nicole had escaped unharmed, but as I know now, she lost her memory while trying to escape." She answered. "Ares wanted to sever the bond between me and him, but he wanted to take Nicole with him. Shortly after I found out about what he had planned, I desperately searched for a way to protect Nicole. From a local pawn shop, I found something that may have helped; a necklace called Athena's charm. As long as Nicole wears it, Ares cannot touch her."

"Her necklace keeps her safe from him?" Wonder Girl asked.

I nodded in agreement, still a little nervous from them finding out about Ares being my father. I know they said it didn't matter, but I was still a little wary. Beast Boy mentioned that Ares must be a terrible dad to attack his own family like that. Madeline however, told us that was not the case.

"I know for certain that Ares still loves me, and he loves his daughter, Nicole. He just decided that his status as a god was more important to him. I believe it may be because of his own father; I heard that out of all of his children, his father always looked down upon him the most. He abandoned Olympus to try and prove to his father that he was worthy of being a god, though he has yet to do so. Ares has had other children before with other gods, but from what I know he never cared very much for them. But Nicole, despite being a half-god, seemed to be very important to him." Madeline explained.

"But why? Why did dad like me more than his other kids?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. Perhaps a part of him believes that being mortal is not so bad. But at the same time, I think it is overshadowed by his desire to show up his own father." Madeline answered. "Maybe that is why Ares wanted you to stay with him. Maybe he saw some of his own humanity in you."

"Ares wants me to be like him, so I can destroy his enemies." I told her.

"I'm sure that is not the real reason. But if you see him again, tell him I said 'hello', and that I miss him. Hopefully, you of all people could get through to him." Madeline requested.

"Okay. I'll try to remember that." I responded.

Before any of us left, I gave my mom a hug good-bye. I tried not to squeeze too tight though, cause she was still weak and in a wheelchair.

"It was… nice to see you." I told her.

"Come back anytime, my little angel." She replied.

* * *

Once we left the building, everyone was once again looking at me, but this time with mostly smug looks. I wasn't sure what the looks were for.

"So… you're half god, huh?" Cyborg remarked.

"Hey! I'm still as human as the rest of you! Well… most of you." I said, with the last statement in regards to Starfire.

"Well, this is all well and fine, but there's still a few unanswered questions." Robin declared. "First of all, why is Ares working with Ghirahim and Majora? What do either of them have to gain from Ares becoming king of the gods? And that hourglass that Red X stole for them, how does that play into all of this?"

We didn't have the answers to any of those questions. However, Starfire had one theory to the first two questions.

"Perhaps the Majora does not intend for the Ares to become the king of the gods. Maybe, Majora plans to deceive him!" She assumed.

"That could make sense. Then Majora would become king of the gods!" Link said.

I still hardly knew who this 'Majora' was, but from what I heard, he is extremely evil and we could not allow any plan of his to succeed. However, Raven suggested that perhaps becoming 'king of the gods' was not what Majora was after. After all, why would he need Ares for that? Majora seemed more than capable of overcoming the gods of olympus. Perhaps that hourglass mentioned before had something to do with it. Robin suggested that we fly back to Titans Tower to investigate this whole thing. Each of us hopped into the T-Ship and started up the engine. As I was squeezed in with Robin, I looked at him with a somewhat suggestive look, that surprised him a little when he saw me.

"What?" He asked.

"I was just thinking… it'd be kinda cool to date a goddess, huh?" I asked him.

"Don't push it, _Nikki_." He said with a sour tone. "You're not _actually_ a goddess."

"Yeah, you're right. But just to confirm, you don't care that I'm the daughter of Ares, right? You still, umm…_ like_ me, right?" I questioned.

"Uhh… yeah, you're still… umm… cool, I guess." He informed me.

That was a relief. I had really feared that he would go back to treating me like a convict like he did when he first met me, rather than like a friend. Who knows? Maybe one day, he'd see me as more than just a friend. But until then, we had more pressing matters to attend to; like figuring out what Majora was up to, and what that hourglass mentioned before had to do with all of this.


	9. Chapter 9: The Phantom Hourglass

Chapter Nine: The Phantom Hourglass

The eight of us were in the T-Ship on our way back to Titans Tower. The other Titans had been kind enough to take me to Bludhaven so that I could meet with my mother, Madeline Sera, and even though I had no memory of her it was still a nice visit that made me… umm… cry a lot. None of the Titans blamed me for that though; I'm sure they would be just as emotional around their parents. Well… most of them, considering that most of their parent's are dead. We were almost back in Jump City, where we would try to find out what the hourglass that Red X had stolen for Majora and his partners was, when we suddenly heard Wonder Girl's communicator ring. Apparently it was an emergency call from her island home of Themyscira.

"Donna? Donna are you there? Please return to Themyscira! We are under attack!" The woman who called was shouting.

"Calm down! Explain to me the situation. Who is attacking?" Wonder Girl asked.

"We're not certain. It is some kind of dark monster, with… oh no! Ahh!" The woman said before she was cut off by something.

Wonder Girl shouted into the communicator, asking if the woman who called was all right. For the first few seconds, there was no response, but after a moment the voice of the woman from before was replaced with a horrifyingly evil voice. Upon the screen of Wonder Girl's communicator was the image of a hideous mask-like monster with two bulging yellow eyes. We were all able to see the message on each of the T-Ship's nav computers, and frankly I really wish I didn't have to view the message. The monster was holding the communicator in one of eight long red tentacles coming out of it's back. I felt sorry for anyone on Themyscira that had to go up against _that_ thing!

_"Hello, Titans. Wonderful to see you all again."_ The monster said.

"Majora." Both Robin and Link declared sourly.

Wait. _That_ was Majora?! He looked even more horrifying than I had imagined! Did we really have to go up against _that?! _Just the sight of those tentacles gave me an upset stomach… and an upset everything else too!

_"You all managed to survive round one of our little game last time. But now, it is time for round two!"_ Majora declared. _"I am currently upon the Island of Themyscira. It is here that we shall resume our little game."_

"Foul creature! How did you even manage to set foot on Themyscira?! It is protected by the gods and keeps out those unwanted from the outside world!" Wonder Girl demanded.

_"Now, now… no spoilers."_ Majora taunted.

Robin demanded that Majora tell us what he was planning, but Majora just told us to 'come and find out ourselves.' The way he talked made it seem like this was all just a game to him. This thing thinks that causing destruction and suffering is a game?! As freaky as this thing was, I was looking forward to kicking it's butt! Well… provided that it _had_ one.

_"I'll be waiting. Heh heh heh."_ Majora stated before he disconnected the communicator.

After that, Wonder Girl had decided that she would return to Themyscira to deal with this threat. Link strongly suggested that the rest of us come with her to help in any way we could. She was against the idea at first, but Starfire went on to explain that Majora was a being unlike anything that they had faced before. If she went up against him unprepared, she and the other Amazons would be 'devoured while still alive,' as she put it. Though with a little reluctance, she agreed to let us help, and Robin altered the coordinates of the T-Ship. After being informed of the Island's location by Wonder Girl, we changed direction and flew off across the ocean. Our destination: Themyscira; and the monster that was expecting us there.

* * *

It took us nearly two hours before we reached the shores of Themyscira. I had been expecting it to be beautiful, and it probably would've been, but what I saw instead was an island where all of the greek-style buildings were wrecked and up in flames; but we all knew who was responsible for that. When we got out, I immediately felt a dark presence upon the island. The air was cold, despite all of the fire, and a foul smell hung in the air. Wonder Girl appeared to be affected the most by it. This _was_ her home after all; it must've pained her to see it burning like this.

"Don't worry, Wonder Girl. We'll put a stop to all of this." I told her.

"I just don't understand. Why would this 'Majora_'_ attack my island? Our kind have never even heard of the thing!" She pondered.

"Majora doesn't really need a reason to cause mayhem. He just does it." Link informed her.

"It doesn't mean he's going to get away with it though." Robin declared.

Starfire was the first to notice that there was no one in sight amongst all of the fire. Robin ordered Cyborg to scan the area for anything out of the ordinary. After a few minutes, he got something; there was an unusual energy signature coming from the highest point of the island, one of the mountains that held a greek-style colosseum on top. All of us noticed that a bunch of storm clouds had gathered over top of it; that couldn't be good.

The way to the colosseum consisted of a pathway that spiraled around the mountain. Other than some flaming spots there did not seem to be any significant threats; it seemed too easy.

"Looks like a clear shot up the mountain!" I said.

I was ready to run ahead of everyone, but Starfire grabbed my arm and pulled me back. The others were wary that Majora may be setting some kind of trap. Robin suggested that we travel up the path carefully. Seriously though, there was nothing on the path, or anywhere on the side of the mountain.

"You guys are being over-cautious for nothing! I mean, what could happen? It's not like a giant monster is gonna appear out of nowhere!" I assumed.

However, right when I finished that sentence, a giant monster actually _did_ appear out of nowhere! It was at least ten feet tall, and looked humanoid, but with only one eye. I'm pretty sure that this was a cyclops.

"Me and my big mouth…" I said.

"Heh. At least it's only one." Beast Boy said.

Almost as if some unforeseen force had heard him, six more cyclopses appeared out of thin air, snorting in a manner that sounded like laughter. BB's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight of these seven monsters appearing from nowhere.

"You just _had_ to say something, didn't you?" Cyborg asked him sarcastically.

"Okay, before anyone else blurts out something stupid, I suggest that we thrash these things so we can get to the top!" I declared.

I formed two swords in my hands and braced myself. Robin however, said that we couldn't afford to waste any time; he ordered Starfire to take me and Link and fly up to the colosseum. The rest of them would deal with these ugly things.

"What?! No way, Spikey! I'm not letting you take on these guys without me!" I told him.

"If we take too long, it will be too late. Whatever Majora plans to do here, it's already started." Spikey told me as he pointed towards the top of the mountain.

It was easy to notice that the dark storm clouds above the mountain were turing red. Robin was right; Whatever it was that was going on up there, it had to be dealt with now. I nodded, and while Robin and the others dealt with the cyclopses, Starfire grabbed mine and Link's hand and flew us up to the colosseum. A few lightning bolts shot out of the clouds at us, but Star was fast enough to dodge them; though she was also fast enough that it gave me an upset stomach.

* * *

After I had gotten all of the knots out of my stomach from the flight up here, I saw exactly what was going on within the colosseum. All along the sides were hundreds of very strong looking women, all of which seemed unconscious. I presumed they were the other Amazons, and from the looks of their battered and scorched armor they obviously put up a fight before they were subdued. In the center arena, there was a single man standing over some kind of object. It was Ghirahim, and when I looked a little closer at the object he was standing over I could tell that it was some kind of hourglass; most likely the same hourglass that Red X had stolen for them. Ghirahim was waving his hands over the hourglass in a really weird fashion, as if performing some kind of ritual. I think that the three of us could all agree that whatever ritual was being performed, it had to be stopped!

"That hourglass! That must be the one mentioned before by the Red X!" Starfire claimed.

"And whatever Ghirahim is doing to it, it can't be anything good." Link replied. "Still… what does Majora need all of these Amazons for?"

"Who cares! Let's just get over there and kick his butt before he succeeds with… whatever it is he's doing!" I said.

I once again formed two swords in my hands, and then ran towards Ghirahim, despite Link and Starfire's suggestion not to. I wasn't even halfway to the guy when a huge wall of fire sprang out of nowhere, right in front of me! The fire encircled the entire arena, including a ring of fire that sprang up around Ghirahim, keeping us from getting to him or the hourglass. I didn't know what was going on, but Link and Starfire knew exactly what was happening.

"Majora's here." Link said.

No sooner after he said that that a tremendous amount of dark fire just exploded in midair in front of us. When the flames stopped, another monster appeared in its place. This time however it wasn't just any monster, it was the one behind all of this; Majora. I have to say, he was even more horrifying in person. His 'head' consisted of an enlarged heart-shaped purple and red mask lined with spikes on the top and bottom, with eight more spikes floating underneath to make him look like he had a mouth. He had eight red tentacles coming out of his back, and also a stream of dark fire coming out of him which made him look serpentine. His very presence caused us to feel a chill, despite all of the fire. He gave off an unwelcome feeling, kind of like Link's, except even worse.

_"Greetings Titans… oh, it appears it is just you two, and your new little friend."_ Majora said in a demonic voice. _"How is your father doing, demigoddess?" _

"Isn't he here already?" I asked.

_"Unfortunately he is unable to show at the moment. But don't worry… he'll be here soon enough. Heh heh heh."_ Majora answered sinisterly. _"After all, your father is key for us to break the seal of the Phantom Hourglass."_

"Phantom Hourglass?" Link questioned.

That must've been what that hourglass was. But why was it called the _Phantom_ Hourglass? And what was in it that was so important that Majora would ravage an entire island for it?

_"Indeed. The Phantom Hourglass is an ancient vessel that locks away a great power. The power of the phantom god, Bellum. A being whose evil runs so deep, that it is capable of taking the life force of other beings. And once he is free, he will be mine to command!"_ Majora told us.

"That's how you plan to conquer Olympus?! By releasing this… this… thing from it's prison?!" I questioned.

For some reason, my question seemed amusing to Majora, for he began to laugh maniacally. Whatever sense of humor this thing had, it clearly wasn't from our universe.

_"Conquer Olympus? If that is what you think my plan is, kid; then you are far from the truth."_ Majora said.

Majora's plan did not involve conquering Olympus? Wonder Girl had told us that may be the case, but… no, that was what Ares wanted. So if Majora doesn't want to be king of the gods, what does he want?

Whatever his plan was, it was apparent that Link wasn't going to just stand by and let Majora get away with it. He ran towards Majora with his sword drawn, ready to attack almost as recklessly as I had. Link's attack, however, had results, as he sliced off one of Majora's tentacles with his Master Sword. However, the strangest thing happened next. Majora did not seem phased from Link's attack at all. In fact, right after the attack, it was Link who was screaming in pain for some reason! He stumbled back and clutched his left shoulder, dropping the Master Sword in the process. Starfire shrieked and flew over to him as fast as possible.

"Link! Are you okay?! What happened?!" She asked him as she helped him up.

"I… don't know. Somehow, I felt incredible pain after that attack." Link answered.

They both then looked up at Majora, who had regrown his tentacle as if it hadn't been cut off at all!

_"Really? Because I didn't feel a thing!"_ He snickered.

Link was still grasping his shoulder in pain, and Starfire was trying to help him stand up again. This Majora guy had some nerve! Link's attacks only ended up hurting himself! I didn't know if the same would happen with me, but I was more than willing to try attacking. I formed a sword in my hand and charged at him again, while he was still facing Link and Starfire.

"Well, you're gonna feel_ this!_" I shouted right before I leapt at him.

Right before my attack hit though, Majora dodged it. I tried again and again, but he just kept dodging.

_"Too slow! Not likely! Pathetic!" _Majora said after each dodge.

Now he was starting to annoy me! He hadn't even struck back yet and already he was wearing us out!

"_You're_ pathetic!" I shouted angrily. "Why don't you fight back, you coward!"

Before I could attack again, Starfire shouted something out to me, something about staying calm.

"Do not let the Majora get to you! He draws power from the anger of his opponents! The angrier you get, the harder it will be to defeat him!" She informed me.

"Staying calm in the heat of battle isn't exactly easy, Starfire!" I responded back to her.

Unfortunately, while I was distracted, Majora struck me with one of his tentacles. But the strangest thing was that the tentacle wasn't even attached to his… umm… 'body', it was floating in midair; it had come out of some kind of portal! I tried to avoid the next hit, but I wasn't fast enough, and his tentacle wrapped itself around me and lifted me off the ground.

"He… never did _that_ the last time!" Link stated weakly.

_"Since our last encounter, I have grown stronger. I'm afraid your tactics from before will not work so well this time!"_ Majora informed.

I struggled to break free from his grip, but his tentacle was gripping me too tightly. It almost felt like I was going to be snapped in two. Majora's hideous face hovered right in front of me, even while his tentacle was still crushing me through the portal in space.

_"I have an entirely new bag of tricks up my sleeve… I can handle whatever you Titans throw at me."_ He gloated.

Majora's eyes began to light up. Was he going to fire something from his eyes at me. I tried turning invisible to see if he would drop me, but it did no good. I bet anything that with those gigantic eyes of his, he could see me even when I was invisible. I didn't see any way out of this, so I braced myself for the hit.

"Handle _this!_" Starfire said from the sidelines.

All of the sudden, a shining green laser shot out from Starfire's direction and hit Majora right in his 'head'. He released his grip on me and I fell to the ground, and so did he; he landed near the edge of the ring of fire and crashed in a cloud of dust. I looked over to Starfire, who had her sword out. The blade was enshrouded in green light, the same green color that the laser was. She fired that laser out of her sword?! Wow. Her Spirit's Sword is something else!

"Thanks, Starfire." I told her.

"My pleasure. You are alright?" She asked me.

"Yeah… I'll live." I answered.

Just then, the fire around the arena began to flare even more, and the area where Majora crashed was engulfed in flames; black flames. Majora rose out from the flames with his eyes all blank, and a big scowl on his 'face'. He growled deeply, and then looked towards Starfire. His eyes then went from blank to glowing red, a very scary shade of red.

_"You. I've had just about enough of you!"_ Majora told her in a horrifyingly angry tone.

Faster than either me or Link could react, Majora shot himself over to where Starfire was. She managed to dodge the the first strike, but at this point Majora was attacking like a crazed psychopath. Well… _more_ of a psychopath than normal anyway. He was shooting out everything at her; tentacle strikes, lasers, fire, anything he had that could hurt.

_"You petulant little brat! My plans do not involve you in any way! Yet you choose to interfere! Just as _**_she_**_ did so long ago!"_ Majora raged.

_She? _Who was Majora talking about? Whatever Majora's plans were, Starfire wasn't the only one who was going to interfere with them. I formed a giant hammer and leapt into action. Right now, Majora had managed to trap Starfire in a 'cage' formed out of all eight of his tentacles, and was about to spew fire right in her face. She was going to try cutting his tentacles off to get out, but she didn't need to. I swung my hammer into the side of Majora's 'head' and knocked him and all of his tentacles to the ground. I helped Starfire up, and the two of us stood next to each other, ready for Majora's next attack.

"I guess it is now my turn to say the 'thanks'." Starfire told me.

"Heh. No problem." I replied.

Majora got back up and looked really angry. However, his anger ceased when he looked up at the sky and laughed for some reason. Starfire, Link, and I looked up to see why. To our shock, the sky above us looked like it was surrounded in red energy. It was as if the whole Island was covered by a big glass dome, and the dome was cracking!

"What the heck is going on?!" I shouted.

_"Heh heh heh. The barrier is breaking. The mystic barrier of the gods that protects Themyscira is about to be undone."_ Majora told us.

"What?! But how?!" Link questioned.

_"I owe it all to you, girl." _Majora said as he pointed towards me.

"I did this?! How is that possible?! I didn't even touch that barrier thing!" I claimed.

"You didn't have to. With your father's power coursing through you, all you had to do was fight; and when the godly energy from your attacks collided with me, it began to weaken the barrier." Majora explained. "Now it is only a matter of seconds before it breaks! Then your father will be able to cross over, and Bellum's revival will finally be complete!"

Overtop of us, the crimson barrier covering Themyscira cracked apart even more. Then, once the cracks had spread all over the island, the barrier came apart with a loud glass-like shattering noise. And once the barrier was gone completely, a gigantic red lightning bolt came down from the dark clouds, and when the blinding flash it produced cleared, standing right where the bolt hit was Ares; the God of War; my father.

* * *

By now, the other Titans had arrived. It looked like those cyclopses really did a number on them.

"Link, Star, Scarlette! Are you all okay?" Robin asked us.

"The whole sky broke apart! What did we miss?" Beast Boy asked.

"We fought Majora, and then the sky barrier broke, and now the Ares is here." Starfire told them.

The others apologized that they hadn't gotten there sooner. The cyclopses they faced were tougher than they had thought. Beast Boy in particular was swung around silly by them, at least six times! In fact, he was still a little dizzy.

"The god's protective barrier is gone?!" Wonder Girl asked.

Ares stepped towards us. He was as imposing as ever, and the cold wind blowing around us didn't help to make this encounter any less imposing.

"I owe it all to my daughter. It was her power that broke the barrier. Though I am surprised that she broke it sooner than I expected. I am impressed." He informed us.

After hearing that, Wonder Girl turned towards me in anger, and called me a traitor. I insisted that I had no idea that my power could do that, and that if I knew I wouldn't have come here. At first, Wonder Girl thought I was lying, but fortunately Robin came in-between us and vouched for me.

"Scarlette has amnesia. The only things about her past that she remembers right now are from her recent encounters with her mother and father. She didn't know." Robin told her.

"Yeah. And even after those encounters I still barely know anything about myself. Plus, Ares never told me I was capable of this." I claimed. "He… tricked me."

My own father… had used me. Just like almost everyone else had. I shouldn't have been surprised, but it still made me feel bad.

"Tricked is not really the word I would use, Nicole. I merely did not tell you of your potential. It is not my fault you decided to come here; it is yours." Ares claimed.

Actually, it was really Majora's fault. He attacked the island, and forced us to come here. Still, if there was a barrier keeping Ares out, how did Majora get past it? That didn't matter right now, as Majora was ready to begin his ritual.

"We have to stop him! Titan's go!" Robin shouted.

Before we could do anything though, Ares rose up his hands and summoned forth eight giant floating swords, and commanded each of them to attack us. With these blades attacking us, we couldn't get to the Phantom Hourglass to stop the ritual.

"That should hold them long enough." Ares said.

_"Good. Now then, let us finish this ritual. I am sure that Bellum is starving."_ Majora replied.

Majora and Ares went over to the Phantom Hourglass, with Ghirahim still standing over it.

"The first part of the ritual is complete. Bellum has awoken. Now all we need is for the seal to be undone." Ghirahim stated.

_"Leave that to me."_ Majora said.

Majora's tentacles curled around each other and formed what looked like a pair of arms. He held his two four-fingered 'hands' above the hourglass and began speaking in some weird language that none of us could understand. As we were still dealing with Ares' swords, we could not stop Majora from finishing the ritual. The black sand within the hourglass began to churn rapidly, and I'm pretty sure I could see a creepy yellow eye pop out from the sand every few seconds. A wave of dark energy came out from the top of the hourglass and sent out an uncountable number of dark energy streams that snaked their way out towards the Amazons trapped in the sides of the arena. As each stream made contact, to our horror each one of them turned to stone. The energy turned from black to a dark yellow, and then coalesced back into the hourglass. The entire island started rumbling, and even the sea surrounding us was raging. Then after a minute or two, the Phantom Hourglass broke apart, and all of the black sand inside spilled out and rose up in the shape of a pillar. The sand was beginning to take shape, reforming into whatever Bellum was supposed to look like. If Bellum was anything like Majora, would any of us be able to defeat him?


	10. Chapter 10: The Pure Metals

Chapter Ten: The Pure Metals

The dark storm clouds encircling the island of Themyscira began to grow even darker and the sea surrounding us raged violently, as it was only a matter of time before the evil phantom god, Bellum, would regain his true form. The black sand that had spilled from the Phantom Hourglass was changing shape, beginning to resemble some kind of tentacled thing. I was a little freaked to see what he was really going to look like.

The magic swords that Ares had conjured up to keep us at bay had now disappeared, probably because there was no need for them now that Bellum was only seconds away from rebirth. Robin told us to get ready fro whatever that sand was going to become.

"Ugh! I bet he's gonna be something huge and super gross!" Beast Boy remarked.

Shortly after Beast Boy's remark, the black sand had finally ceased churning and radiated with dark energy. When it cleared, we finally saw what it had formed into. It was a putrid green octopus-like creature with what looked like teeth on top of it's head. It certainly was nasty-looking, but…. it was no bigger than a common octopus! The nasty, but still rather pathetic-looking thing fell from the air and landed where the Phantom Hourglass had been, with a small splattering noise. Beast Boy, Cyborg and I began laughing at how tiny this so-called 'phantom god' was.

"That's Bellum?! Ha! He's hardly bigger than Silkie!" Beast Boy laughed, mentioning Starfire's pet worm.

"You've gotta be kidding me! Majora went through all of this trouble to revive that?!" I also laughed. "I'd have more of a challenge pulling off Spikey's mask!"

Robin gave me a funny look from that last statement, but afterwards told all of us not to let our guard down. Link went on to mention that if Majora had revived this thing, then it _must_ be dangerous; he just didn't exactly know how.

I looked towards Ares, and noticed that he did not look very pleased. He was looking down towards the tiny pathetic-looking pile of 'phantom god' that was supposed to be Bellum, and growled in anger. He then turned to face Majora, and sounded very angry.

"Is this some kind of joke?! This is the all-powerful 'phantom god'?! It looks more like something one would put on a dinner plate! You dare to mock me?!" Ares raged.

_"Oh, I assure you, this is indeed Bellum. His seal has been broken, but unfortunately his time within the hourglass has left him drained."_ Majora explained. _"But do not worry. All he needs to regain his powers is a little more life force."_

Ares turned towards us and laughed. I formed a pair of swords, ready for whatever these guys planned to do with us.

"I see. That must be why you brought the Titans here. To be Bellum's first meal." Ares claimed.

_"Actually, no. In order for Bellum to return to his former self, the life force he must devour must be from a being of great power." _Majora informed Ares. _"Fortunately, I have prepared for this part as well."_

"A being of great power? If it is not the Titans then who….?" Ares started to ask.

Before he could finish though, Majora began to smile horrendously. In fact, his evil smile would've normally been humanly impossible (but of course, Majora isn't human at all). Then before Ares could react, a black tentacle grasped one of his arms; but this tentacle didn't come from Majora; it was one of Bellum's! The octopus-like monster had opened the 'mouth' on it's head, and inside where there should've been a throat-hole, there was instead a demonic yellow eye that was similar to one of Majora's. It let out a piercing shriek and grabbed Ares with it's other four tentacles. He tried to break free, but Bellum had already attached himself and didn't look like he was going to let go.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Ares questioned angrily as he tried to pull Bellum off.

_"Ha ha ha ha! You really thought I was going to assist you in your conquest of Olympus? Fool! I could care less about those second-rate gods. I merely needed your life force to return Bellum to full power, so I can use him to further my own plans!"_ Majora snickered.

"You dare to double-cross me?! I am the God of War!" Ares shouted.

_"I highly suggest that you find a new title…"_ Majora gloated.

Ares continued to try and break free, but it was no use. I could hardly stand Ares, but even so, he was still my dad. I had to do something! With the two swords I formed earlier still in my hands, and ran up towards him and plunged both of my swords into Bellum to try and pull him off of my father. However, while the swords did go in, they didn't seem to have any effect! It was as if Bellum was intangible, which may very well be considering he is the 'phantom god'. Before I could do anything else, Bellum swiped one of his tentacles at me and knocked back a few feet.

I kept trying to pull Bellum off, but every time he kept knocking me back. After the fifth time, the others shouted out for me to stop.

"Scarlette, it is no use! Bellum isn't going to come off!" Starfire told me.

"At least it's Ares that's being attacked. Good riddance." Wonder Girl stated.

I could honestly see where she was going with that, but still, Ares was my father; and if anything that my mother said was true, I knew that he still cared about me, at least a little. As such, Wonder Girl's statement made me a little angry, but even so it was too late now. I looked towards Ares to see that his body was slowly turning to stone, and once it was completely petrified, Bellum let go.

Bellum's body began to pulse grotesquely. He rose into the air again, and he began to pulse more rapidly. With a hideous stretching noise, his body grew nearly twenty times it's original size. His octopus-like body bulked up, and the tip of each of his tentacles grew an eyeball that was same color as the one inside his mouth. After this transformation was complete, Bellum let out a blood-curtailing shriek, one that was deeper than before. Majora floated right up in front of Ares' now petrified body, and laughed.

_"Say it with me: I am Ares, God of _**_Lawn Ornaments!_**_"_ Majora gloated. _"Oh, I guess you can't say it with me, for it would appear that you have been… _**_stoned!_**_" _

After Majora laughed maniacally (yet again) he floated up to Bellum and smiled evilly. Bellum looked towards Majora and shrieked, then struck Majora with one of his tentacles. It didn't look like Bellum was very loyal to his new 'master.'

"So what now? Is that Bellum thing gonna eat Majora?" Cyborg questioned.

"That'd be a bit ironic, no?" Wonder Girl stated.

However, while Bellum had attacked Majora, and now had all five of his tentacles wrapped around him, Majora didn't look phased at all. He still had that same evil smile from before, and by now it was giving me the creeps. Bellum's attack had been in vain, for Majora seized Bellum's five tentacles with his own eight tentacles. With almost no effort, Majora had Bellum pinned within a matter of seconds.

_"I'm afraid that my life force is not on the menu today, Bellum. But I know what is…"_ Majora said.

What Majora did next almost made me want to hurl; He stuck all eight of his tentacles right through Bellum's 'chest!' A black-colored substance, which I assumed was Bellum's blood, came oozing out of him. So, did Majora go through the trouble to revive Bellum just so he could kill him? That made absolutely no sense! But if I had learned anything from Robin, it would be that you can't always jump to conclusions; there had to have been a reason that Majora had just skewered the phantom god. My question was answered in almost an instant as Majora attached his mask 'face' to Bellum's 'chest.' Majora's eyes stopped glowing, but Bellum's eyes were now glowing and looked exactly like Majora's; including the eyes on his tentacles!

_"Now _**_I_**_ am in control."_ I heard Majora's voice say.

His voice had come from Bellum. At that moment, I realized what had just happened; Majora had possessed Bellum! The other Titans had been watching this with me, and from the looks of it, they had found the whole thing to be displeasing too. Beast Boy had actually thrown up!

"Ugh… dude… that had to have been the nastiest thing I've ever seen!" Beast Boy said.

"I've seen you leave nastier things in our bathroom. But yeah, that was pretty nasty." Raven replied.

I knew that was Raven's attempt at lightening the situation, but honestly, it wasn't working. Majora was now attached to Bellum, and hovered over to us. He stared down at us through Bellum's 'mouth-eye', which was dripping saliva.

_"Now… who shall be our first victim?"_ Majora… or Bellum, or… Majellum or something, asked himself.

Link unsheathed his Master Sword and jumped at Maj… Bell… whatever! Starfire urged him to stop, but Link had already swiped his sword right into Majellum's flesh. But just like what happened with Majora, Link was the only one who felt the pain. He screamed in pain, while Majellum's wound healed in an instant. All of us went to help Link out, with those of us who had not been in the fight from before looking very confused.

"Foul monster! You will not hurt Link again!" Starfire shouted towards Majellum.

She drew her sword from the scabbard on her back, and it began to blaze in green fire. Heh, now Majellum was in for it! It was only a little while ago that I saw Majora get massacred by that Spirit's Sword of hers!

_"Go ahead! Sever us apart with that sword of yours! But do you really want to risk it? We still have the life force of all of these Amazons within us."_ Majora stated. _"Even if you destroy us, you risk leaving all of these victims in a nonexistent state for all of eternity!"_

So if Starfire actually did destroy Majora, she'd risk ending the lives of all of the Amazons on this island! Majora was really playing dirty now! Apparently Starfire did not want to take that risk, as she put her sword back in it's scabbard. Despite her backing down, Majellum wasn't going to back off. He sent out three of Bellum's tentacles straight for her. She was about to get hit, but right at the last second, Wonder Girl had used her lasso to bind the three tentacles together. Majellum was stopped in his tracks, for now.

"All of you! Get out of here, now!" Wonder Girl told us.

"No Donna! We will not leave you to face him alone!" Starfire responded.

"Don't worry about me! You all need to find a way to slay this beast and return the life force he stole! I'll hold him off while you escape! Now go!" Wonder Girl said.

Link insisted that Majellum was lying and that he could be slain without sacrificing anyone, but Robin told everyone that Wonder Girl was right. Now that Majora had possessed Bellum, his threat level has increased dramatically. It was unlikely that any of us would stand a chance against him right now, even if we attacked him as a team. We had to go back to Titans Tower and figure out a way to deal with this. I was reluctant at first; I mean, I'm not the kind of girl that runs from a fight. But every time Spikey and I got into an argument about mission tactics, he would end up winning it. Besides, he was right; if we stayed in the fight right now, odds are we would all end up in Bellum's stomach. So we retreated; making our way as fast as we could back to the T-Ship.

From the distance we could hear the end results of Wonder Girl's attempt to stall Majellum.

_"You wish to stand in our way? Then I guess you will be our first victim!" _Majellum roared.

With a horrendous shriek from Majellum and a piercing scream from Wonder Girl, the struggle ended. Majellum had, without a doubt, taken Wonder Girl's life force. We didn't have any time to mourn her loss though, as Majellum would be on our tail at any moment! Cyborg started up the T-Ship and floored it! Majellum didn't chase after us, but I knew for a fact that we'd see him again.

* * *

Even back at the Tower, the sky was still as dark as it had been on Themyscira. It was most likely Majellum that was causing this, and it was only a matter of time until he arrived here in Jump City. We were all gathered in the ops room, to try and find a way to win the fight against our new assimilated opponent.

"Starfire? Have you found anything in the Book of Hylia?" Link asked.

Starfire had been sitting at one of the tables looking through this weird book written in a language none of us could understand; well, except for Starfire of course.

"I have found a page detailing the Bellum. It is as Majora said; he is a monster with the power to steal the life force of others." Starfire explained.

"Life force? What is that? Like someone's soul?" I asked.

"It's similar to that. It's a sacred power that all living things possess. It's what enables us to live, and without it a person's body is rendered as useless as stone." Raven answered me.

Did that mean that all of those Amazons and my dad were still alive? Then maybe there was still a chance to save them. Starfire kept flipping through the book, and eventually came upon some useful information.

"It says here that a weapon called the Phantom Sword is what had slain Bellum in the past. Perhaps if we find this sword, we can set things right again." She informed us.

"Sounds good. Star, keep looking through that book. Try to find any clues to where the sword may be." Robin ordered.

Starfire kept looking through the book, and by now Link went to sit beside her. I went over to the window and gazed out across the ocean. I could've sworn that I could hear the screams of innocent people being attacked and drained of their life force by Majellum. I couldn't help but feel that this was all my fault. I was the one that broke the barrier protecting Themyscira, which is how Ares was able to arrive and provide the means for Bellum to return to full power. I've failed everyone; my friends, my father, and the world.

"Hey, Nikki? How're you holding out?" Robin asked me.

He had caught me by surprise. I didn't even hear him approach. Not only that, but he called me 'Nikki' again. I guess that was short for Nicole, which _was_ my real name, but I didn't expect Spikey to be calling me that so soon. Maybe this meant that he actually trusted me now.

"Oh, hey Spikey. I'm fine, I just… feel a little bad about what happened." I told him. "If I hadn't been there, Majora's plan wouldn't have worked, and he wouldn't be terrorizing people as an amalgamated squid-eyeball monster right now. Maybe my old gang-mates were right… maybe I never had what it takes to be a hero."

"Whatever that gang told you, it isn't true. You've proven to me more than once that you have more than what it takes to be a hero. Even if your father is the god of war, it doesn't mean_ you_ have to be." He told me.

I smiled at his comment. It was nice to know that I had friends who believed in me, and weren't just using me to further their own goals.

"Majora would've found a way to revive Bellum even if you hadn't been there. What matters right now is finding a way to stop him." Robin said.

I nodded, and went with him back into the ops room. Starfire was still looking through that book, and she hadn't found any info on where to find the Phantom Sword. By now the others were huddled around the book too, which wasn't exactly helping.

"I'm beginning to think that book doesn't know where the Phantom Sword is." Link mentioned.

"That's because the Phantom Sword does not exist on this world." A voice said from behind us.

We all turned around to see a white-haired woman wearing a long white dress standing in front of the entrance. Robin and Cyborg braced themselves for whatever would happen; but honestly, I don't think there was anything to worry about. Whoever this woman was, she did not look like an enemy. But hey, what did _I_ know?

"Who are you?! How did you get in here?!" Robin demanded.

"The tower's alarm didn't even sound! How'd you get past my security?!" Cyborg questioned.

Robin was still ready to strike, but both Link and Starfire shouted out for him to stop. They both claimed that it was alright, and that this woman was a friend. Even Raven was nodding in agreement.

"Hey Kalena." Link said to the strange woman.

Kalena merely took a few steps forward, down the small flight of steps that separated the entrance from the main room. I was able to see a very faint glow surrounding her, though I wasn't sure if I was the only one to notice.

"Forgive my intrusion, but I believe that I have the information that you seek; the means obtain the Phantom Sword capable of slaying Bellum." Kalena told us.

Cyborg was thinking that this was some kind of trap, but Raven assured us that she could be trusted, for now. She explained that Kalena had helped them out against a villain called Vaati a few months ago, back when they were helping another friend of theirs named Ian. I was curious as to who Ian was, and why he wasn't here now. Raven told me that Ian was a shady boy they had met a while back. His birth had been influenced by Vaati's power, and he had been used to aid in his revival. In the end though, he saved everyone by sealing Vaati within his own body. Vaati was no longer a threat, but now Ian had all of Vaati's power within him, and it was very hard to control. So he went to Azarath, Raven's birthplace which existed in another dimension, for mental training. None of them knew when they would see him again, but I hoped that I would be around to meet him.

Back on the subject at hand, I asked Kalena about this 'Phantom Sword', and if she knew where to find it.

"Unfortunately, the Phantom Sword itself no longer exists. However, the components to make one do." Kalena told us. "Aquanine, Crimsonine, and Azurine. These are the three pure metals that when combined are capable of containing the sacred power that forms the Phantom Sword."

"Those sound more like some weird candies than metals." Beast Boy mentioned.

"Give it a rest, Beast Boy." Robin said. "Kalena, where can we find these metals."

"About that… only one of each of those metals have existed on Earth; the ones that were used to forge the previous Phantom Sword. As such, I do not know where you could find the metals." Kalena informed.

"What?! Well, why are you telling us this when it's pretty much impossible?!" I questioned.

As I freaked out, I randomly formed a whip in my hand. Seriously, this random weapon formation really ticked me off. Did it have something to do with my mood? I wasn't sure, but after I discarded the whip and awkwardly apologized, Starfire stood up and mentioned that she had heard the names of those metals before.

"I believe that those three substances are found upon three different worlds located not to far from my home planet Tamaran. I believe the worlds are known as Grele, Crimsone, and Neria." She told us.

"So you're saying that these metals are found on three different planets?! We have to go into space to find them?!" I asked.

This was apparently the case. But if this was true, then we had to leave the Earth while Majellum raged. By the time we got back, he could've eaten up everyone on the planet. Kalena had a solution to this as well. She asked Beast Boy for the Phantom Hourglass. Huh? The Phantom Hourglass? But it was back on Themyscira; besides, it was broken. We all looked at Beast Boy, who had an embarrassed look on his face. He then ran out of the room for a minute, then came back with the shattered remains of the Phantom Hourglass in his hands.

"How'd you get that?" Cyborg asked him.

"Heh. I… swiped it during all the commotion. Thought it'd make a nice souvenir." He answered.

He handed it over to Kalena, who held it out in front of her. A strange light surrounded it, and somehow it began to reassemble itself. Once it was fixed, the glass filled up about halfway with golden sand. She then handed it back to us.

"How did you do that?!" Link asked her.

"I have repaired the hourglass and placed some of my own power within it. As long as you keep it with you, Bellum will be unable to take your life force." Kalena told us.

"Ah yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Cyborg exclaimed.

"However, you will only be protected so long as the sand remains in the top of the hourglass. Once it runs out, Bellum can do with you as he pleases." She went on.

"But… can't you just flip it over to restart it?" I asked.

"No. The sand in the hourglass can only be restored from the light of the sun. Though I have placed enough in there to last you for about 72 hours." She answered.

"Well, at least we can just hold it up to the sun to give us more time." Beast Boy mentioned.

I hated to be the one to burst his bubble, but I mentioned to him that the entire sky was covered by dark storm clouds, so holding it up to the sun wouldn't exactly do any good right now. Beast Boy responded with a disappointed 'oh.' Well, now we knew where to find the stuff to make the Phantom Sword; now we had to decide who would be sent to find the stuff. Robin suggested that Link and Starfire would be best to sent. At first they argued against it, saying that the swords they held were our best chance at holding Majellum off. However, Link was currently unable to fight Majora due to Majora's new trick, and although Starfire's sword could, in theory, harm Majora, we had no way of knowing if the lives he had taken would be spared if he was struck down with the Spirit's Sword. They both eventually agreed.

"Okay! Now that that's settled, lets get ready to fight this guy!" I exclaimed.

"Umm… Scarlette?" Robin asked as he put his hand on my shoulder. "I think _you_ should go with them too."

"What?!" I questioned. " But I can help!"

Kalena intervened by saying that I was a crucial part in creating the Phantom Sword.

"Me? Making the Phantom Sword? How does that work?" I asked her.

"With Bellum on a rampage right now, there is no time to forge an actual metal sword. However, by utilizing your demigod powers, you may be able to absorb the sacred energies of the metals; thus, allowing you to create a construct of the Phantom Sword, one that functions exactly the same as the real one." Kalena informed me.

"So what you're saying is… I'm key to this whole mission?" I asked.

Kalena nodded. I couldn't help but shout out 'awesome!' But I was a little embarrassed afterwards. As such, I agreed to go with Link and Starfire to these three planets, to create the weapon that could slay Bellum; a weapon that _I_ was going to use! Heh. Not only was I going to help save the world, but I was also going to go into space! Tell me that's not exciting!

Before anyone went anywhere though, Raven approached Kalena, with a distrusting look in her eyes.

"Kalena, what are you, really? I can sense some kind of otherworldly energy coming from you. You're clearly not an ordinary human." Raven asked her.

"All I can say right now is that I am a messenger of the Spirits, here to aid the chosen heroes and their allies on their mission to protect the world from a great evil." Kalena answered.

Raven still looked at Kalena with distrust, but as there were more urgent matters at hand, she let the situation go for now.

* * *

There was hardly any time to lose. We all went to the docking bay where the T-ship was, and Link, Starfire, and I hopped in. Link and Starfire looked out from the cockpits and wished the others good luck at holding off Majellum.

"Try bringing back a souvenir!" Beast Boy shouted out.

"Take care of yourselves!" Cyborg shouted.

"Try not to get eaten out there." Raven said normally.

"Just come back in one piece!" Robin shouted.

"Will do, Spikey!" I shouted back at him.

The T-ship's engine started up, and a platform raised up that pointed the T-Ship towards the sky. Right before we blasted off, I heard Robin wish us good luck. I looked over towards him, and whispered to myself.

"Good luck to you too… Robin." I said, though I was the only one who heard it.

A few seconds later, the T-ship rocketed out of the docking bay and into the sky. Once we were beyond the Earth's atmosphere, the T-ship discarded the huge rockets that had blasted it into space. Starfire then activated the T-ships boosters, and we flew off into the vastness of space. Our first stop was the planet Grele. I didn't know what would await us there, but I knew that all three of us were determined to find the first pure metal; and once we had all three, I'd be able to use the Phantom Sword to slay Majellum, and put an end to this nightmare!


End file.
